Tennis News

PRAGUE, Czech Republic – Lucie Safarova’s clay court revival at the J&T Banka Prague Open gathered further momentum on Thursday with a straight set win over Hsieh Su-Wei.

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Going into her home tournament, Safarova had not registered a win all season, but after unraveling Hsieh’s unorthodox game in two tight sets she now has three in as many days.

In a topsy-turvy encounter, Safarova failed to serve out the opening set at 5-4, before coming within a few points of losing it two games later. In the tie-break, it was the Czech that held her nerve, taking it when Hsieh miscued a backhand into the tramlines.

Hsieh continued to pose problems in the second set, but once again it was Safarova that came out on top at the crucial moments, returning from a late rain delay to reach the semifinals 

Safarova’s 7-6(3), 7-5 victory followed on from an even more impressive performance from her compatriot and next opponent, Karolina Pliskova. Eager to minimize her time exposed to the elements on another chilly day in the Czech capital, defending champion Pliskova blew away Camila Giorgi, 6-2, 6-1, in just 51 minutes.

Pliskova and Safarova met only last week in Stuttgart, the former coming through a third set shootout, to add to victories over her Fed Cup teammate the previous year in Antwerp and Dubai.

Following her showing in Stuttgart and her run this week Safarova is feeling positive heading into the rematch. “I was on the way back already in Stuttgart, where I had a great match, and I was hoping the results would come. I’m happy and excited that it’s going this well.

“It was a tough match today; she’s always a very tricky player, defending the court very well and I’m very excited to be through to the semis.”

BIEL/BIENNE, Switzerland – 17-year-old Czech qualifier Marketa Vondrousova put together a commanding performance to stun Kristyna Pliskova, 6-2, 7-5 and reach the first WTA semifinals of her career at the Ladies Open Biel Bienne.

Earlier in the week, Vondrousova was named to the Czech Republic’s Fed Cup squad, set to make her debut as the defending champions take on the United States in World Group semifinals. Now Vondrousova’s backed up yesterday’s upset over Annika Beck with a win over a player ranked spots above her to prove why team captain Petr Pala made the right choice.

“It’s so super, because I didn’t even know I could play that good!” Vondrousova said after the victory. “I’ve had a great season so far, and I played qualies here and I’m so glad I made it through and keep playing so good.

“I’m just trying to focus on every match, every point, and just play like I have nothing to lose. I am calm and I feel confident.”

17 year old qualifier Marketa Vondrousova makes first #WTA Semifinal!

Beats Pliskova 6-2, 7-5 at @WTABielBienne! pic.twitter.com/SpAMUXUGBg

— WTA (@WTA) 14 de abril de 2017

Playing in her first WTA quarterfinal, Vondrousova wasn’t cowed by the occasion or by the big Pliskova serve. She set the tone early on, breaking in Pliskova’s opening service game and keeping her under pressure through the match. She brought up 12 break opportunities across both sets and converted five to put away her countrywoman in an hour and 20 minutes.

She joins Anett Kontaveit and Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the semifinals and awaits the winner between top seed Barbora Strycova and No.7 seed Julia Goerges,

Earlier in the day, Kontaveit survived a complicated three-set battle against the fast-rising Elise Mertens to advance 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-1.

Kontaveit was two points away from the match while serving at 5-4 in the second set when Mertens came roaring back to force a tiebreaker and a deciding set. But the Estonian stayed calm to break three times and reel off six games in a row in the final set to shut down the comeback and move into the Biel/Bienne semifinals.

Anett Kontaveit is first through to @WTABielBienne Semifinals!

Outlasts Mertens 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-1! pic.twitter.com/X4US4Co2kS

— WTA (@WTA) 14 de abril de 2017

Also through to the semifinals is Belarusian qualifier Sasnovich, who diffused the fast-paced Camila Giorgi in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.

The Italian led by a break in each set – she was up 3-1 in the first and 4-2 in the second – but couldn’t hang on to the lead. Her eight double faults proved costly, coming at crucial times and allowing Sasnovich to break six times during the match.

Aliaksandra Sasnovich reaches @WTABielBienne Semifinals!

Tops Giorgi 6-4, 6-! pic.twitter.com/DcHCt8uZ8O

— WTA (@WTA) 14 de abril de 2017

More to follow…

BIEL/BIENNE, Switerzland – Top seed Barbora Strycova is into her second semifinal of the season after No.7 seed Julia Goerges was forced to retire one game into the third set of their quarterfinal at the Ladies Open Biel Bienne, with the Czech prevailing 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (ret.). Strycova will face fellow Czech Marketa Vondrousova in Saturday’s semifinals.

The 31-year-old rallied from a set down with some gritty defending and resilience in the second set. After holding in a 15-minute game at 2-all in the second set, Strycova slowly grabbed the momentum back her way to take the second set.

Goerges, who had seen her forehand misfire regularly throughout the latter half of the second set, called the trainer after the second set and took a medical timeout to get her right arm massaged. Strycova won the first game after the changeover and the German was forced to call it a day, citing a right wrist injury.

“We had always tough matches against each other,” Strycova said. “It’s very tough to play against Julia because we know each other very well, we used to play doubles together, and we are going to play again a little bit. It’s never easy, but we both want to win.

“I’m happy that I won, but not in this way because it’s always very hard to see someone injured and have to walk off from the match.”

Heavy hitting from @juliagoerges and @BaraStrycova to start their quarterfinal @WTABielBienne. pic.twitter.com/fhuW407oFo

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 14, 2017

It was a bad luck ending to a great week for No.46 Goerges, who dominated much of the match against Strycova before succumbing to injury. The 28-year-old fired 18 winners to just 6 unforced errors in the first set, smothering Strycova with her heavy hitting despite the retirement, finished with 33 winners to 21 unforced errors. Strycova hit 8 winners to 11 unforced errors for the match.

Who says serve and volley is dead? Not @BaraStrycova @WTABielBienne. pic.twitter.com/SachkSbU6C

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 14, 2017

Despite being besieged by Goerges’ offense, Strycova found a way to problem-solve the match, throwing in a good amount of variety with dropshots, slices, and the occasional serve and volley to keep the German uncomfortable.

.@BaraStrycova caps off a scrambling rally with the perfect drop shot. pic.twitter.com/esn7Phjua3

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 14, 2017

“It feels nice,” Strycova said. “The court is very comfortable to play on, the ball is coming to you very nice. It took me some matches to get used to it but I feel good.”

After nearly being down a double-break, @BaraStrycova is battling back. Level at 3-3. pic.twitter.com/B7OA0o8gK4

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 14, 2017

Next up for Strycova is her 17-year-old compatriot Vondrousova.

“Another young gun from Czech! I saw her play here already and she’s playing very well,” Strycova said. “She’s playing from the qualifying so she has a lot of matches under her belt. It will be a tough one because she’s young and she wants to play the best tennis she can so I have to be ready so I have to play my best tennis as well.”

MADRID, Spain – 2014 Mutua Madrid Open finalist Simona Halep got her outdoor clay court campaign off to a flying start on Court Manolo Santana; opening the night session on Sunday, the Romanian eased past Japan’s Misaki Doi, 6-0, 6-3, to reach the second round.

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“It was a good match, a good start for me,” she said after the match. “The first set was fast; I had a good start because I was confident, and practicing very well the last few days here. In the second set, she started to hit faster, and I was hitting flatter than I was at the start of the match. That was good for her.

“I had to make it more of a clay court game, and that’s why I won.

Halep was suffering from the lingering effects of an ankle injury and breathing problems in a stunning loss to Laura Siegemund just two weeks ago in Stuttgart, but exhibited none of those health concerns in Madrid, racing through the first eight games of the match, hitting five aces and 19 winners in the match.

A dangerous floater, Misaki Doi came closest to preventing Angelique Kerber’s Australian Open run back in January – having held a match point on the German in their first round encounter – and leveled the second set by winning three games in a row after falling behind a break. Halep’s coach Darren Cahill took to the court to advise his charge, who brushed off the string of games to win the final four of the match to reach the second round.

Converting six of eight break point opportunities, Halep maintained an impressive 66% first serve percentage and won all four of her points at net.

Awaiting the former World No.2 in the second round will be Italy’s Karin Knapp. Knapp has spent much of the season dealing with a right knee injury, played some emphatic tennis to defeat rising Russian Margarita Gasparyan, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

“I have great memories from two years ago, so the game is ok here. It was a bit cold, but it’s always cold here in the evenings. It was ok, I was playing good and it was a good day for me.”

In just twenty-two minutes, @Simona_Halep drops a bagel on Doi 6-0! #MMOpen https://t.co/kXbyMNb3JZ

— WTA (@WTA) May 1, 2016

Sunshine Double winner and former No.1 Victoria Azarenka maintained an unbeaten streak that now stretches to 15 matches (including Fed Cup) with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Laura Robson. A former No.1 in Great Britain, Robson has been off the court for much of the last two and a half years, and had entered Madrid’s main draw with a protected ranking.

Nonetheless, she kept things close against the two-time Australian Open champion – particularly in the first set, where she maintained even footing until the crucial ninth game, in which the Belarusian broke serve to run away with the match. Azarenka’s next opponent will be Frenchwoman Alizé Cornet; though she trails 4-0 in their head-to-head, the last three matches have gone three sets.

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix finalist Laura Siegemund had retired from her doubles match on Saturday citing dizziness, but pushed through another impressive singles result on Sunday, dispatching 2015 Madrid runner-up and No.9 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3. A qualifier in Madrid, Siegemund is currently the No.4 German; should she hold onto that position, she is a likely candidate to qualify for the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. She will next play fellow qualifier Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who won a second straight match over Kristina Mladenovic, having narrowly taken out the young French star in a third set tie-break in Charleston. Mladenovic’s countrywoman and doubles partner Caroline Garcia reached the second round when Australian Open semifinalist Johanna Konta was forced to retire in the second set of their first round, citing an upper respiratory illness.

Earlier in the day, 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic captured a thrilling three-set win over qualifier Katerina Siniakova; the No.14 seed emerged victorious out of a titanic final game to win, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. No.11 seed and J&T Banka Prague Open champion Lucie Safarova enjoyed a seamless win over American CoCo Vandeweghe, while Romanian wildcard and former World No.21 Sorana Cirstea continued her charge back up the rankings with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Jelena Jankovic.

25th win of 2016! ?@Vika7 Azarenka tops Robson 6-4, 6-2 in @MutuaMadridOpen first round! pic.twitter.com/J2DhcNZ0V0

— WTA (@WTA) May 1, 2016

MADRID, Spain – Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu backed up her win over 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard with an even bigger result, toppling No.3 seed and 2015 Wimbledon runner-up Garbiñe Muguruza, 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3, to reach the third round of the Mutua Madrid Open.

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Begu needed three sets to battle past Bouchard on Sunday, and things hardly differed on Monday night against Muguruza; despite leading 5-2 in each of the first two sets, the hometown favorite battled back each time – saving three set points at 5-3 in the second – to take the opening set and get within four points of victory in the second set tie-break.

“I was a little bit disappointed in my game when I was leading; I wouldn’t be as aggressive as I was before,” Begu said about her lost leads after the match. “My coach told me I’m really close, and really playing well. I just had to keep fighting for every ball, and that was the key.”

The Romanian, however, wouldn’t be denied; becoming something of a marathon woman – winning her last six three-setters reaching the quarterfinals of the Volvo Car Open with a trio of grueling matches – Begu recovered from a mini-break down to level the match and lead by a break in the decider.

“In Spain and especially in Madrid, there are a lot of Romanians, so I think it was 50/50!” Begu laughed when asked about the crowd support. “It’s tough to play a local player, and especially against Garbiñe, one of the best players. I was ready for this match, and I think that was the key as well.”

Muguruza hit 39 winners in the two hour and 42 minute epic, and managed to draw level once more, but Begu swept three of the final four games, hitting 30 winners of her own and only 34 unforced errors to 42 from the World No.4.

“I think I could have started better, but I managed to come back,” Muguruza said in her post-loss press conference. “I managed to fight and find my game.

“But I think it has been a very good game. I think she played pretty well. I played against Begu before and I think that today she played much better than previous times.

“I think that she served very well. I had to fight everything that I can, but just didn’t go my way this time.”

Up next for Begu is Christina McHale, who began the day with a win over No.13 seed Karolina Pliskova in straight sets.