Brisbane: Suárez Navarro vs Lepchenko
Carla Suárez Navarro takes on Varvara Lepchenko in the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International.
Carla Suárez Navarro takes on Varvara Lepchenko in the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International.
Ana Ivanovic is enjoying a new chapter of her life after tennis thanks to husband Bastian Schweinsteiger’s move from Premier League club Manchester United to Chicago Fire of the MLS.
The German international soccer star spoke to the media this week about the challenge of relocating to the United States after he and Ana made the decision to swap the north of England for the Windy City.
Following their arrival in Chicago, first stop for the glamorous couple was a Chicago Bulls NBA game.
Welcome, the newest member of the @ChicagoFire, @BSchweinsteiger and @AnaIvanovic to Chicago and tonight's #Bulls game! pic.twitter.com/ptLkuxSkkt
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 31, 2017
Speaking after her retirement from tennis at the end of last year, Ivanovic emphasised that she was excited about the next chapter of her life and, within months, she has switched continents.
On our way to Chicago!! ✈️ pic.twitter.com/YniVqIEEj9
— Ana Ivanovic (@AnaIvanovic) March 28, 2017
And it seems as if the couple have already become a lucky charm for their local basketball team as the Bulls beat Cleveland Cavaliers 99-93 in a closely fought encounter.
Happy couple enjoyed last night @chicagobulls match pic.twitter.com/pGp3SA3Rcx
— Ana Ivanovic ?? (@IvanovicLive) March 31, 2017
Samantha Crawford has Thursday’s shot of the day at the Brisbane International.
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Catch up Johanna Konta’s biggest career title at the Miami Open, courtesy of the WTA Insider Live Blog.
Hear what Elena Vesnina has to say before the beginning of the tournament.
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – 2010 Volvo Car Open champion Samantha Stosur eased past 2007 champion Jelena Jankovic, 6-1, 6-3, to advance into the third round in Charleston.
“I’ve had eight hours of practice on clay courts, so all in all, I’m pleased with how I started the match and got through it in straight sets,” she said after the match. “That’s not easy to do against Jelena; we’ve had some really long matches in the past, so I was glad to get through.”
Crafty shot from @BamBamSam30! #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/Oz10dPwqh6
— WTA (@WTA) April 5, 2017
Stosur is coming off a solid run to the round of 16 at the Miami Open, and was facing a tough test in Jankovic, who led their head-to-head 7-2 and won their most recent encounter at the 2013 French Open.
“Right from the first practice, I felt comfortable. I obviously had a great clay court season last year,” she added, referring to her run to the final four last spring in Roland Garros. “So I’m really trying to pick up from there, and keep the good tennis from Miami going.”
Still, it’s been a tough Sunshine Swing for the Serb, who won just one of her last five matches heading into Charleston – though she emerged victorious against Ekaterina Alexandrova on Monday – and appeared on the brink of a swift defeat as the Aussie took the opening set.
Outstanding volley by @Jelena_Jankovic! ? #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/uYoIKXhhqF
— WTA (@WTA) April 5, 2017
Jankovic settled and played more consistent tennis in the second, but Stosur proved too strong, taking the contest on one hour and 13 minutes.
“A lot of it comes down to the serve; if I can hit my spots and be accurate, it’ll be hard for my opponent.
“If I’m getting 65% or more in, that’s pretty good. On a clay court, it can be a little more because I’ll be hitting a few more kick serves, but the worst part of my year last year was my winning percentage on first serves. That’s really been a focus, and tonight that was really good.”
Up next for the former World No.4 is eiher No.10 seed Irina-Camelia Begu or Kristina Kucova.
.@BamBamSam30 is first through to @VolvoCarOpen Round of 16!
Tops Jankovic 6-1, 6-3! pic.twitter.com/X9NNwHN03V
— WTA (@WTA) April 5, 2017
Simona Halep was able to win the longer rallies in her 7-6(2) 6-3 victory over Madison Keys to win the title at the Rogers Cup in Montréal.
SAP Tennis Analytics tracks how successful players are on varying rally lengths. During Sunday’s final, Halep won 62% of the rallies that were longer than six shots.
After a tight first set, Halep took control of the second by winning more of the medium-length rallies. After winning just 46% of the 3-6 shot rallies in the first set, Halep won 65% of those points in the second set.
Overall, Halep won 56% of the rallies that were greater than three shots throughout the match.
Rally length is included in the “Rally hit to” tracking on the SAP Coaches View. That particular data shows where each shot during a rally lands on the opponent’s side of the court. The display differentiates between forehands and backhands, and can be filtered by a particular score or to only show winners, unforced errors, service returns, the last shot of a rally or the third shot (first rally ball hit by the server).
For the Rogers Cup final, this data set also shows that Halep not only was winning the longer points, but she was also looking to keep the ball away from the Keys forehand. Halep directed 57% of her shots toward the Keys backhand, and for good reason. During the match, 13 of the 17 winners Keys hit came from her forehand.
The SAP Coaches View combines scoring information direct from the chair umpire with tracking data from HawkEye to allow for an in depth look at five different aspects of a match. Each tracking option can be filtered to narrow the focus to specific situations within a match, such as break points. This information is available directly to coaches in real-time during a match on their SAP tablet and also available to them online after matches.
On Sunday, Halep’s success on the longer points in the match allowed her to win her third trophy in 2016.
It’s time to vote for July’s WTA Player of the Month!
Have a look at the nominees and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, August 5.
July 2016 WTA Player Of The Month Finalists
Simona Halep: One year after reaching her first Rogers Cup final in Toronto, Halep went one better in Montréal, growing though a tough field that included Karolina Pliskova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Angelique Kerber, and Madison Keys to win her first title in Canada, and her third of the season. Halep is currently riding a 10-match winning streak after winning at home in Bucharest on clay.
Madison Keys: Finishing a close second to Halep in Montréal, Keys returned to the Top 10 – and the Top 8 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard – by reaching her first-ever hardcourt final on the WTA tour. A three-set win over former World No.1 Venus Williams set the tone for the week, as she knocked out an in-form Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and qualifier Kristina Kucova to make the championship match.
Johanna Konta The British No.1 won her first WTA title in style at the Bank of the West Classic, defeating Venus Williams for the second time this season to reach another career-high ranking – falling just short of a Top 10 debut after making the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup.
Venus Williams: Venus earned her eighth career Stanford final in July, and played Konta tough in a three-set defeat. Her solid run of form continued in Montréal, where she reached the round of 16.
2016 Winners
January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
April: Angelique Kerber
May: Garbiñe Muguruza
June: Serena Williams
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
Tennis was no longer an Olympic sport when Maria Bueno was in her heyday, but should it have been then she would surely have walked away with gold.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Bueno lifted 19 Grand Slam titles in singles and doubles to establish herself as the greatest Brazilian to ever wield a racquet. Fittingly, the venue where the modern day greats will vie for medals at the upcoming Rio Games has been named after Sao Paulo’s favorite sporting daughter.
Now in her 70s, Bueno still plays regularly at her hometown club. One of these slots was set aside for Pat Cash and CNN Open Court to discuss her instinctive game, Grand Slam memories and, of course, the recently inaugurated Olympic Tennis Centre.