Tennis News

With Wimbledon just three weeks away, expectations are high for British No.1 Johanna Konta. In the last 12 months, she has undergone a career transformation which has seen her go from a grateful wildcard to a true WTA contender, and with it comes the pressure.

Sky Sports caught up with Konta in Nottingham ahead of her landmark opening round win at the Aegon Open Nottingham, where she’s once again made British tennis history.

“I started playing when I was eight,” Konta told Sky Sports. “When I was nine, I decided I wanted to be No.1 in the world.”

With her victory yesterday over Victoria Duval, 25-year-old Konta is one step closer to fulfilling her childhood dream. Her WTA ranking has now risen to World No.18, making her the first British woman in 33 years to break the Top 20 since Jo Durie in October 1983. It’s an even more remarkable feat considering that Konta started out the year ranked at No.48.

Her name is now etched in the history books, but for Konta, not much has changed.

“Well, a lot of external things have changed,” Konta conceded. “But at home, and how I feel about my tennis, it’s very much the same.

“I consider myself very lucky to be able to do what I love. I very much don’t take anything for granted.”

‘S-HERTOGENBOSCH, Netherlands – Top seed Belinda Bencic was made work again in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, coming back from a set down to win against Varvara Lepchenko and set up an all-Swiss quarterfinal at the Ricoh Open.

Watch live action from ‘s-Hertogenbosch this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Playing in her first matches of the season on grass – and her first since her two-month injury layoff – Bencic had trouble finding her rhythm early on and struggled with her serve, striking six double faults.

“My level is still not there where I want it to be,” Bencic said afterwards. “I don’t think it was a really good match from my side. But all I could do myself was just to fight and keep going. That’s what I’m trying every day so I’m just hoping to improve.”

Lepchenko took advantage of Bencic’s service woes to break early on in the first set, taking it 6-3. Bencic found her range in the second, and in the third set she broke twice and strung together more consistent rallies to take the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Bencic’s win sets up an all-Swiss quarterfinal at the Ricoh Open; she’s set to face qualifier Viktorija Golubic in the next round. She defeated Japanese qualifier Risa Ozaki, 6-4, 6-2.

The pair are Fed Cup regulars for Switzerland, as well as good friends off the court.

“I’m very happy for her that she’s having such good results,” Bencic said. “I just think it’s very positive for the Swiss to have two players in the quarterfinals.

“I’m really good friends with her so I hope that it will be a good match. I will have fun out there and try to fight like today.”

The luck ran out for the other two seeded players in action today in ‘s-Hertogenbosch as No.2 Jelena Jankovic and No.4 Jelena Ostapenko went tumbling out.

“I’m so happy to win today,” said Evgeniya Rodina, who knocked out Jankovic 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-4. “I’ve played against her three times before, and three times I lost.

“I just tried to play every single point, hit hard and just try to do my best.”

Women hear a lot of obnoxious things in their daily lives. World No.1 Serena Williams is ready to do something about it.

In conjunction with her fabulous cover story for Glamour Magazine, Serena starred in a video in which she hit back – literally – at some of the sexist things she and so many women have heard in their every day lives.

“Today I’m here to express some of the frustrations that I have about the obnoxious things that men sometimes say about women,” Serena says in the video. “I’m doing this for all womenkind. I’m kinda doing it a little bit for me, on the low.”

So what are some of the comments that drew Serena’s ire, compelling her to thwack a tennis ball at her padded-up co-star Alec?

– You’re really talented…for a girl.
– You should smile more!
– It’s okay that you’re upset. Girls are supposed to get emotional!
– You get really loud when you play, like really loud.
– Stop being so dramatic!
– So how much time do you spend picking out your competition outfits?
– Do you think you could ever beat a guy, just once?
– Only guy’s sports are worth watching.

Yeah. Don’t say those things. Especially to Serena.

Watch the full video here.

MALLORCA, Spain – Former World No.1 Ana Ivanovic enjoyed one of her most emphatic wins of the season, dismantling Sara Sorribes Tormo, 6-1, 6-0, to reach the quarterfinals of the Mallorca Open.

Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Playing against her childhood idol, the 19 year old was overawed on the Center Court in Mallorca, lasting just 51 minutes against the 2008 French Open champion, who was hoping to turn around a disappointing season with a second WTA quarterfinal appearance.

“Honestly, grass is not my favorite surface,” the Serb said in her post-match press-conference, “but I’ve loved playing in Mallorca. I really hope I can keep playing well to stay long. The courts and crowd are really nice, so it’s a good feeling.

“I remember the first time I played the Williams sisters; you’re a little bit overwhelmed playing someone you used to look up to. But she’s very young still, and had some good strokes. Hopefully she can get better and move into the top of the game.”

Dropping just seven points behind her first serve, Ivanovic convered five of nine break point opportunities to set up a match against No.6 seed Caroline Garcia.

“I think we’ve been lucky to have perfect weather here; I know they’ve been struggling in Birmingham. I’ve actually had fun playing here. Yesterday, we had fun in doubles too, with Kirsten Flipkens.

“Garcia won the last three times we played, but it’s a different surface, and I’ll have to be extra focused and low on my shots. I have to go into the match knowing it’s going to be close, and look for my opportunities.”

.@AnaIvanovic impone su ley en el #MallorcaOpen. ¡Sólida victoria ante @sara_sorribes 6-1, 6-0. ?? pic.twitter.com/IOP61qYPYQ

— MallorcaOpen (@MallorcaOpen) June 16, 2016

Garcia played earlier in the day and survived a nail-biter of a second set tie-break against unseeded German Anna-Lena Friedsam, advancing, 6-4, 7-6(4).

“It’s good weather and I like when it’s hot. It was two tight sets, but you need a lot of energy on grass and a lot of focus. So every point is very important; I’m happy to be through in two sets.

“Maybe I played the important points better, but it was very tight. That’s grass also, and why you have to stay focused on every point. It’s a very different game, but good to have it for a month – just a month though!”

The Frenchwoman has won her last three matches against Ivanovic – all of which occurred in the spring of 2015 – but the pair have never met on a grass court.

“It’s not very natural for me,” she told press of the surface. “I have to say that the grass here is drier than it usually is in England, so it’s a little bit more comfortable for me. I feel safer on the court and the ball is bouncing higher, especially on my second serve. For your first tournament on grass, you don’t expect much, but I hope to keep going.”

Playing in the inaugural Mallorca Open meant opting out of the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, a tournament plagued by rain delays and poor weather.

“I’ve seen all the news on twitter about interruptions and suspensions. It’s frustrating because you can’t practice; you have to go indoors or the gym. When you want to go on grass, you want to at least be practicing. There’s a chance to do this here. Even when you’re done with a match, you can still practice. So I’m very happy with my choice!”

¡Accede a los cuartos de final del #MallorcaOpen @CaroGarcia! Victoria 6-4, 7-6 ante Friedsam. ?? pic.twitter.com/ZYtsnulUdt

— MallorcaOpen (@MallorcaOpen) June 16, 2016

More to come…

MALLORCA, Spain – No.6 seed Caroline Garcia overcame a mid-match wobble against Kirsten Flipkens to make her way to the inaugural Mallorca Open final where she’s set to face Anastasija Sevastova for the title.

Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

It’s been an incredible few weeks for the on-the-rise Frenchwoman; she grabbed her first title of the year at Strasbourg, win the French Open doubles title with Kristina Mladenovic, and now here on the Spanish grass she’s into her second final of the year.

“When I arrived here I wasn’t expecting much because it’s normally very hard to reach the final in your first grass tournament of the year,” Garcia said. “I’ve just taken it match by match and slowly getting more confidence on the grass, even though still there’s things in the game that I want to improve.”

Garcia started out the match digging herself out of a 2-4 hole against Flipkens, whose game favors the faster surfaces. The Frenchwoman fired off four games in a row to snatch the first set away from the Belgian.

Despite Flipkens coming back to win the second 6-4, Garcia was in nearly impeccable form in the third. She rattled off five games in a row to take the match and advance 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

“Every final is a new experience, but definitely the results give me more confidence,” Garcia said. “There is always tension and emotion but with experience I can manage it better and do my best tomorrow.”

Garcia’s opponent in the final had a dicy road to the inaugural Mallorca Open final. AnastasijaSevastova spent the night after her first-round win waylaid in the hospital after suffering a health scare.

“I had a stomach virus and after my first round, I started cramping and became dehydrated,” Sevastova told press ahead of her semifinal match. “I was fine during my match and for a little bit afterward. Then suddenly I started cramping and couldn’t stop.”

Sevastova spent the night in the hospital and was cleared to play the next day; she went on to beat Eugenie Bouchard and set up her semifinal clash with No.2 seed Jelena Jankovic.

Fully recovered from her opening round scare, Sevastova survived another one against Jankovic, who put her in a one-set deficit after 35 minutes. She settled her nerves and unleashed her flat groundstrokes and drop shots – aided in part by Jankovic’s own injury woes – to overturn the deficit and seal her comeback 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

With the win, Sevastova makes her way into her first WTA final since 2010 at Oeiras.

“I don’t know really how to feel, I’m quite tired but I’m very happy,” Sevastova said. “It’s sinking in right now, but we’ll see how it goes. Tomorrow is another match – you can’t stop, you have to go on.”