Tennis News

ACAPULCO, Mexico – No.4 seed Monica Puig is into the quarterfinals at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel for the second time after a victory over Daniela Hantuchova, 6-4, 6-4.

“Today I felt a lot better on court than I did yesterday,” Puig said after the match. “I’ve definitely seen an improvement in my game during the past few days.

“And that’s really my goal, to improve every match and not feel pressure, and just go out on court and play the best I can.”

Hantuchova is currently ranked No.244, a position which belies the quality the former World No.5 can produce, and she employed her all-court game against the Olympic champion.

? ? ?

Powerful backhand from @MonicaAce93! #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/5HeWxwyEMu

— WTA (@WTA) March 1, 2017

Puig shook off a sluggish start in the opening set against Hantuchova, grabbing the lone break at 4-3. She had trouble closing out the set – a struggle she had yesterday against Francesca Schiavone as well. The Puerto Rican had two set points on Hantuchova’s serve, but was unable to convert. She fought off two breaks of her own before sending down a booming serve down the T to take the opening set.

“I’ve had a lot of matches these past few weeks, so having a bit of tension is normal,” Puig explained in her post-match press conference. “The body gets a bit tense after so many matches.”

The Puerto Rican’s big-hitting game clicked together in the final set, weathering five breaks of serve in the first six games to come away with the lead.

A trio of errors from Hantuchova gave Puig a look at three match points, but Hantuchova wasn’t ready to let go. She put together a massive effort to deny Puig five times with gutsy baseline play – and even earned a break point – but Puig took the match on the sixth time of asking for a spot in the Acapulco quarterfinals.

.@MonicaAce93 advances to @AbiertoTelcel Quarterfinals!

Tops Hantuchova 6-4, 6-4! #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/GgL3uiJeQ9

— WTA (@WTA) March 1, 2017

Puig will take on Christina McHale for a spot in the semifinals after the American knocked out her countrywoman Taylor Townsend 6-1, 7-6(5) earlier in the day.

“Christina is a very good friend of mine, we train together a lot,” Puig said. “It’s going to be a tough match for sure. She’s been playing really well lately, and I expect a great match; I just hope to bring my best tennis.”

Also in action today, Kirsten Flipkens moved into the quarterfinals after her opponent Ajla Tomljanovic – author of yesterday’s stunner over No.6 seed Eugenie Bouchard – was forced to retire after the first set due to a right shoulder injury.

No.7 seed Lesia Tsurenko advanced in similar fashion; she was leading 6-1, 2-0 against Julia Goerges before the German was forced to retire due to heat illness.

ACAPULCO, Mexico – No.5 seed Christina McHale put on an emphatic display to defeat No.4 seed Monica Puig, 6-2, 6-2 to become the first semifinalist at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.

“I knew it was going to be a tough match going in; she’s got a lot of power,” she said after the match. “I was just trying to defend well because she’s really tough when she’s in control of the points.

“I think I served well today, which helped a lot.”

McHale last played Puig in 2010, and the Puerto Rican star has grown by leaps and bounds since then, becoming the first from her country to claim a gold medal at the Olympic tennis event. But the American, herself fluent in Spanish, acquitted herself well on Thursday, converting all four of her break point opportunities and striking four aces to ease past Puig in just over an hour.

Beautiful backhand cross-court winner from @MonicaAce93! ? #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/acfuPPQ1Ye

— WTA (@WTA) March 2, 2017

The No.5 seed is into her third semifinal in Acapulco – her best result coming in 2014, when she reached the final – and will play No.2 seed Kristina Mladenovic in the next round.

.@ChristinaMcHale races through the opening set vs Puig 6-2! #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/MTPWENiZlL

— WTA (@WTA) March 2, 2017

Before she gets there, however, she is due back on court later today for a round of doubles; McHale is the No.4 seed with partner Chuang Chia-Jung and takes on Veronica Cepede Royg and Mariana Duque-Mariño to make two semifinals in the same week.

“I was just focusing on the match, and I’m really happy to be in another semifinal. This is one of my favorite tournaments. I’m excited to be back on court for doubles later.”

.@ChristinaMcHale is first through to the @AbiertoTelcel Semifinals!

Knocks out Puig 6-2, 6-2! #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/iLFJfXBfeq

— WTA (@WTA) March 2, 2017

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – With less than one week to go until the season’s first WTA Premier Mandatory tournament gets underway, the BNP Paribas Open announced today the recipients for main draw wildcards:

Bethanie Mattek-Sands: won the 2016 BNP Paribas Open doubles title with CoCo Vandeweghe

Nicole Gibbs: advanced to the third round of the 2017 Australian Open

Taylor Townsend: advanced to the third round of the 2014 French Open

Danielle Collins: a two-time NCAA singles winner at the University of Virginia

Irina Falconi: earned her first WTA title in 2016 at Bogota

Kayla Day: 2016 US Open junior champion and USTA Girls’ 18s National winner

Jennifer Brady: made a tremendous run to the 2017 Australian Open Round of 16

Donna Vekic: won the title at Kuala Lumpur at the age of 17

Qualifying wildcards will be announced in the near future. Qualifying rounds will take place Monday and Tuesday, March 6 and 7, with main draw play beginning on Wednesday March 8.

THE WINNERS

Reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber won her second title of the season at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, dispatching qualifier and countrywoman Laura Siegemund, the tournament’s Cinderella story, 6-4, 6-0.

“I was just trying to enjoy the atmosphere, the fans and to play here again in the finals,” Kerber said. “So, I was trying to relax a little bit but also in the same moment to be focused. It helped me yesterday, so I was trying and hoping that it will help me today as well!”

Though Siegemund finished the match with more winners (22 to 16), Kerber played her counterpunching style to perfection, hitting just nine unforced errors in 80 minutes to win the final 10 games of the match.

It was nonetheless a stellar week for the 28-year-old veteran, who will bound up nearly 30 spots to a career-high ranking of No.42; more importantly, she leapfrogs four of her compatriots to become the No.4 German woman on the WTA rankings – putting her in pole position to round out the national team who can be sent to the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Read the full story and watch highlights here.

Meanwhile, unseeded Cagla Buyukakcay’s fairytale week at the TEP BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup came to a thrilling conclusion when the hometown favorite recovered from a set down to defeat No.5 seed Danka Kovinic, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Set to crack the Top 100 for the first time in her career, Buyukakcay was making history with every win this week in Istanbul, becoming the first Turkish woman to reach a WTA semifinal, then a final, and against Kovinic, the first Turkish WTA titlist in history.

“It’s an incredible week for me to win the title at home, to break into the Top 100 with this tournament, to play against someone with my crowd,” she said after the match. “This is a tournament I’ve been playing since 2005, when I was 15, and I saw the best players at this tournament when I was young. So I dreamed of winning the title since then; it’s very special for me.”

Read the full story here.

GAME, SET, MATCH: WTA Insider

Game: Angelique Kerber turns the page.

Kerber’s successful title defense at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix capped off a five-week run of play that saw her put her post Australian Open malaise behind her and re-assert herself as a force on clay. After two opening round losses after winning her maiden Slam, the German has now made the semifinals or better at her last three events. Her Stuttgart title builds her lead at No.1 on the Road to Singapore, nearly 500 points clear of No.2 Victoria Azarenka.

Kerber is the first to admit clay has never been her favorite. But that began to change last year when her titles in Charleston and Stuttgart kickstarted what has been a career-best 12 months. Kerber has yet to maintain her success in the early part of the clay season through to Paris. She has made the quarterfinals just once at the French Open and in the last two years she has won just one match combined in Madrid and Rome. So long as she’s healthy and stays aggressive from the baseline, there’s no reason Kerber can’t be a force on the red dirt.

 Hear from Stuttgart champion Kerber in this week’s WTA Insider Champion’s Corner.

Set: Cagla Buyukakcay historic on home soil.

Home court advantage doesn’t always ring true in tennis. Playing at home can be paralyzing given the pressure to perform. But this week saw both singles champions win their home tournaments, with No.118 Cagla Buyukakcay becoming the first Turkish woman to win a WTA title. The 26-year-old was 0-7 at the Istanbul Cup before last week but she made good on her wildcard to snag five wins en route to the title. The win vaults her into the Top 100 for the first time at a career-high No.82.

@roberta_vinci Robyyyy???Thank you sooo much❤️❤️ trying to follow your foot steps??????Always classy!!????

— Çağla Büyükakçay (@CaglaBuyukakcay) April 24, 2016

@TimeaOfficial Timiii thank youu so much❤️❤️???? I love that team spirit??? love to your lovely team!! good luck in Rabat??????

— Çağla Büyükakçay (@CaglaBuyukakcay) April 24, 2016

Quick look at the new Road to Singapore rankings and how about that @CaglaBuyukakcay: pic.twitter.com/MziDD5uoe4

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 25, 2016

The best day of my life! One of my dreams came true, won WTA title at home??? pic.twitter.com/vX9EZyO3ED

— Çağla Büyükakçay (@CaglaBuyukakcay) April 24, 2016

Match: Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic stop SanTina.

The French duo is riding an eight-match win streak after winning their second consecutive title, edging out No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza 2-6, 6-1, 10-6 to win the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Garcia and Mladenovic have been flying since the tour turned to clay, winning their first title at the Volvo Car Open, winning the decisive doubles in France’s 3-2 win over the Netherlands at Fed Cup, and now beating the game’s best in Stuttgart.

As for Hingis/Mirza, the duo have not won a title since having their 41-match win streak snapped by Daria Kasatkina and Elena Vesnina at the Qatar Total Open.

Hingis and Mirza are now in the midst of a four tournament title drought. Time to panic? Not really. The pair went five tournaments without a title last year, mostly on their worst surface of clay. They went on to win Wimbledon, the US Open, and the WTA Finals.

RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of April 25, 2016.

Cagla Buyukakcay (TUR), +36 (No.118 to 82): Turkey’s Buyukakcay owns this week’s biggest ranking jump after her fairytale run at the TEP BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup ended with the hometown favorite becoming her country’s first WTA titlist. She now sits at a career-high No.82.

Laura Siegemund (GER), +29 (No.71 to 42): Another Cinderella story unfolded at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, which saw Siegemund upset player after player to reach her first WTA final and vault to a career-high No.42.

Danka Kovinic (MNE), +13 (No.60 to 47): Kovinic also posts a career-high ranking this week after reaching her second WTA final at Istanbul.

Petra Kvitova (CZE), +1 (No.7 to 6): Kvitova’s run to the Stuttgart semifinals causes the only Top 10 shuffle of the week, leapfrogging Simona Halep to reach the No.6 spot.

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS

GP SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem
Rabat, Morocco
International | $226,750 | Clay, Outdoor
Monday, April 25 – Saturday, April 30, 2016

J&T Banka Prague Open
Prague, Czech Republic
International | $226,750 | Clay, Outdoor
Monday, April 25 – Saturday, April 30, 2016