Tennis News

‘S-HERTOGENBOSCH, Netherlands – Belinda Bencic returned to the semifinals of the Ricoh Open courtesy of a hard-fought win over qualifier Viktorija Golubic on Friday afternoon.

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Twelve months ago, Bencic made it all the way to the final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Understandably given her recent injury lay-off her tennis is yet to sparkle this time, and against Golubic she dug deep to eventually prevail, 7-6(6), 7-6(2).

“Like yesterday I just fought with everything I had obviously. I think she played very well and it was a very intense match and I’m happy that I fought through it,” Bencic, who let leads slip in both sets, said afterwards. “It’s good for both of us that we’re in the quarterfinal here and I’m very happy to be back in the semifinals here.”

There she will face her good friend Kristina Mladenovic, a relatively comfortable 7-5, 6-3 winner earlier in the day over the draw’s other remaining qualifier, Elise Mertens. Coincidentally, their only previous meeting also came in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Bencic winning in three tight sets en route to last year’s final.

“It’s like every normal match – you try to prepare as best you can. It will be different because actually she’s my very good friend, but I’ll try and take it like a normal match and improve everything I can,” Bencic added when asked about putting their friendship to one side on Saturday afternoon.

The other semifinal will be an all-American affair, pitting the big-serving CoCo Vandeweghe against Madison Brengle. Vandeweghe continued her impressive progress by swatting aside Evgeniya Rodina, 6-2, 6-2, while Brengle defeat Kateryna Kozlova, 7-5, 6-4.

The top half of the draw will round out the semifinals on Wednesday in Miami.

Wednesday

Quarterfinals

[3] Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs. [10] Johanna Konta (GBR #11)
Head-to-head: Konta leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Halep can climb back to No.4 in the rankings by reaching the final in Miami.

Not only has Simona Halep won consecutive matches for the first time all season this week in Miami, now the Romanian is also pulling rabbits out of hats. Halep saved a match point in the second set to edge No.14-seeded Sam Stosur 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 on Monday to book a clash with Johanna Konta in the quarterfinals. Could this inspirational victory be a turning point for Halep in 2017? Maybe, but first and foremost the Romanian is just happy to be showing the world that she can still play at a high level. “Match point down and I came back,” she said after the win. “I’m happy about this, shows I can still play some tennis.”

As for the challenge of facing red-hot Johanna Konta, Halep is cautious, but eager for the test. “It will be tough,” Halep said. “She’s in a good form now, she’s near Top 10. And she plays great. It’s going to be a tough one, but here every match is tough so I don’t expect an easy one.” Konta improved to 16-3 with her Round of 16 win over Spain’s Lara Arruabarrena. The British No.1 was pleased about how she was able to find her level against the World No.72 on Monday. “As the match went on, I felt clearer and clearer on how I wanted to play and what I wanted to do out there from my perspective,” Konta told reporters afterwards.

Konta defeated Halep in their lone meeting at Wuhan in 2015 when she was still outside of the Top 50. She would break into the Top 50 the following week and never look back. Will she continue her climb up the rankings by reaching her first Miami Open semifinal, or will Halep build on her momentum with another noteworthy win?

Pick: Konta in three

[1] Angelique Kerber (GER #1) vs. [11] Venus Williams (USA #12)
Head-to-head: Kerber leads, 4-2
Key Stat: Kerber is 0-3 against Top 20 competition this season.

Two former Grand Slam champions will clash in a marquee quarterfinal on Wednesday as World No.1 Angelique Kerber and Venus Williams lock horns for the seventh time. It was Kerber who emerged victorious when the pair last met at last year’s Wimbledon semifinals. The German executed very well in that contest, winning 43 percent of first-serve return points and breaking Williams’ serve five times on eleven opportunities. She was aggressive, because she knew she had to be. “I was trying to move her,” Kerber said. “That was the plan. That is always the plan when you play against Venus because when she has the ball on the racquet she just hits the ball from left to right, and you just run.”

Nine months later it will be interesting to see if Kerber can implement and execute a similar gameplan. The German has struggled to summon her best tennis this season, and she has lost six of eight matches against Top 50 opponents. Will she have the confidence to attack an in-form Williams?

Williams was in stellar form on Monday as she worked her way past No.7-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets. The American saved three of four break points and won 78 of her first-serve points, and she’ll need to be strong on serve again in order to defeat Kerber and earn her first win over a Reigning World No.1 since 2014.

Pick: Williams in three

By the Numbers
1 – Number of unseeded players to reach the quarterfinals this year at Miami (Safarova).
2 – Konta has reached the quarterfinals at Miami in her two career appearances at the event.
3 – Venus Williams is the only former remaining champion remaining in the draw. The three-time champion last won the title in Miami in 2001.
9 – Halep snapped a nine-match losing streak when losing the first set on Monday when she defeated Samantha Stosur in three.
13 – Williams owns 13 wins over reigning World No.1s, seven of which have come against Martina Hingis.

THE WINNERS

CoCo Vandeweghe overcame Kristina Mladenovic and the worst of the Dutch weather to recapture the Ricoh Open on Sunday afternoon. Vandeweghe, who also won the title in 2014, follows in the footsteps of Justine Henin and Tamarine Tanasugarn as only the third player in the tournament’s 21-year history to win it on two occasions.

“It was actually really difficult – we had three rain delay stops – so it was really difficult to get yourself back into the match and make sure you’re fresh and light and ready to go. Especially the last rain delay in the first set. I was really trying to get myself moving,” Vandeweghe said.

“I got myself in a bit of a pickle in the second set, but I battled my way out of it, and sometimes the name of the game is just battling through adversity and problems you cause for yourself.”

Read the full story here. | WTA Insider Champion’s Corner

Top seed Karolina Pliskova overcame Alison Riske in a rain-affected Aegon Open Nottingham final on Sunday to capture her fifth WTA title.

Afternoon showers pushed the start of play back a couple of hours, at one point even raising the possibility of a Monday final. When the clouds did eventually clear, Pliskova held her nerve to triumph 7-6(8), 7-5, in a fraction under two hours.

“It’s been a great week for me, I really didn’t count on having such early success on the grass so I am feeling good ahead of Wimbledon,” Pliskova said.

Read the full story here.

RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of June 13, 2016.

CoCo Vandeweghe (USA), +11 (No.43 to 32): Vandeweghe’s run to her second Ricoh Open title in three years earns her the biggest ranking jump of the week. She’s now back at her career-high ranking of No.32 after jumping up 11 spots.

Madison Brengle (USA), +8 (No.68 to 60): Brengle reached her first WTA semifinal at ‘s-Hertogenbosch of 2016 to jump up eight spots to No.60.

Alison Riske (USA), +8 (No.89 to 81): Riske’s run to the final of Nottingham, her second WTA final this year, inches her up to No.81.

Monica Puig (PUR), +6 (No.49 to 43): Puerto Rico’s Puig has been steadily climbing up the rankings all year long: she started off 2016 at No.92 and with her run to the Nottingham semifinals she’s up to No.43, just shy of her career-high ranking of No.41.

Kristina Mladenovic (FRA), +3 (No.32 to 29): Mladenovic backed up her French Open doubles title with a run to the Ricoh Open final and as a result she gained a spot in the Top 30, ever-closer to matching her career-high ranking of No.27.

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS

Aegon Classic Birmingham
Birmingham, Great Britain
Premier | $780,900 | Grass
Monday, June 13 – Sunday, June 19

Mallorca Open
Mallorca, Spain
International | $226,750 | Grass
Monday, June 13 – Sunday, June 19

Aegon International Eastbourne
Eastbourne, Great Britain
Premier | $711,778 | Grass
Sunday, June 19 – Saturday, June 25

The Championships, Wimbledon
London, Great Britain
Grand Slams | – | Grass
Monday, June 27 – Sunday, July 10

TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Serena Williams – Wimbledon
2. Garbiñe Muguruza – Mallorca, Wimbledon
3. Agnieszka Radwanska – Birmingham, Eastbourne, Wimbledon
4. Angelique Kerber -Birmingham, Wimbledon
5. Simona Halep -Wimbledon
6. Victoria Azarenka – Wimbledon
7. Roberta Vinci – Eastbourne, Wimbledon
8. Belinda Bencic – Birmingham, Eastbourne, Wimbledon
9. Venus Williams – Wimbledon
10. Timea Bacsinszky – Eastbourne, Wimbledon
11. Petra Kvitova – Birmingham, Eastbourne, Wimbledon
12. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Eastbourne, Wimbledon
13. Flavia Pennetta
14. Samantha Stosur – Eastbourne, Wimbledon
15. Carla Suárez Navarro – Birmingham, Eastbourne, Wimbledon
16. Madison Keys – Birmingham, Eastbourne Wimbledon
17. Karolina Pliskova – Birmingham, Eastbourne, Wimbledon
18. Elina Svitolina – Birmingham, Wimbledon
19. Johanna Konta – Birmingham, Eastbourne, Wimbledon
20. Sloane Stephens – Eastbourne, Wimbledon

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:

Venus Williams (USA) – June 17, 1980

Vote: March’s WTA Shot Of The Month

April 03, 2017

Kirsten Flipkens, Elena Vesnina, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Venus Williams, and Caroline Wozniacki – who will win March’s WTA Shot Of The Month presented by Cambridge Global Payments? Vote now!

Traditionally the start of the grass court season is the time for surprises, the well-manicured lawns paying scant regard to the reputation of tennis’ great and good.

This year’s opening two events, the Aegon Open Nottingham and the Richo Open, proved no different, throwing up a number of eye-catching results. Coming through the wreckage to lift the silverware were two a the game’s biggest servers: Karolina Pliskova and CoCo Vandeweghe.

Their success has resulted significant moves on the Road To Singapore leaderboard. Nottingham champion Pliskova, who narrowly missed out on qualifying for last year’s BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, is up to No.18, while ‘s-Hertogenbosch winner Vandeweghe leapt from No.84 to No.43.

With many of the leading contenders for Singapore waiting until Birmingham and Mallorca to begin their grass court preparations, much of the movement was restricted to lower down the leaderboard. Belinda Bencic made a successful return from the back injury that forced her out of the French Open, reaching the semifinals in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, a result that took her from No.34 to No.27.

Bencic’s conqueror Kristina Mladenovic was rewarded for her eventual runner-up finish with a jump from No.70 to No.49 on the leaderboard. Meanwhile, Alison Riske, the runner-up in Nottingham’s rain delayed final is up to No.55 from her previous position of No.72.

Wimbledon preparations continue apace this week in Birmingham and Mallorca, where Garbiñe Muguruza, Agnieszka Radwanska and Angelique Kerber are all competing.

RTS Ranking Movers

Karolina Pliskova: No.26 to No.18 (+8)
Monica Puig: No.21 to No.19 (+2)
Belinda Bencic: No.34 to No.27 (+7)
CoCo Vandeweghe: No.84 to No.43 (+41)
Kristina Mladenovic: No.70 to No.49 (+21)
Madison Brengle: No.64 to No.54 (+10)
Alison Riske: No.72 to No.55 (+17)

Click here to see the full Road To Singapore leaderboard standings following Nottingham and ‘s-Hertogenbosch.