Tennis News

MONTRÉAL, Canada – Simona Halep capped off a productive Friday afternoon at the Rogers Cup by teaming up with Monica Niculescu to reach the doubles semifinals.

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A few hours after defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova in the singles quarterfinals, Halep was back out on court alongside Niculescu. If Halep was feeling any fatigue she hid it well, playing her part in a surprise 6-4, 3-6, 10-8 win over No.2 seeds and reigning French Open champions Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic.

The last time Halep made it this far in doubles at a WTA event came alongside Maria Elena Camerin in Linz in 2012, since when she has focused her attention primarily on singles. However, her decision to take a wildcard with fellow Romanian Niculescu to help acclimatize to the North American cement has proven to be an inspired one.

In front of a healthy number of their compatriots on the Banque Nationale court, both players rose to the occasion during an entertaining finale. With Halep imperious from the baseline, they rallied from 7-4 down to complete the upset when Niculescu fired a backhand past the stranded Mladenovic.

“Playing with Monica, she’s very tough and very concentrated during the matches. But she motivates me pretty well,” Halep said. “Today it was a crazy match. The opponents are playing well; they won the French Open, it was a good win for us.”

Meeting them for a place in the final will be Andreja Klepac and Katarina Srebotnik, who saw off Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Heather Watson, 6-3, 4-6, 10-7.

On the other side of the draw, there was another surprise as Christina McHale and Asia Muhammad knocked out top seeds Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza. Early breaks in both sets made the difference in a tight contest as the American duo ran out 6-4, 6-3 winners.

Restoring a sense of order at the Stade Uniprix were No.4 seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, who moved one step closer to their first title since 2014 with a 7-6(1), 6-0 victory over Australian wildcards Daria Gavrilova and Samantha Stosur.

Semifinal @katemakarova1 @CoupeRogers ?Полуфинал? #teamrussia #teamvesninamakarova pic.twitter.com/rIpPagfB7x

— Elena Vesnina (@EVesnina001) 29 July 2016

MELBOURNE, Australia – Six years after her four-hour epic against Francesca Schiavone at this very tournament, No.8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova came out on the winning side of Friday’s titanic three-setter against former No.1 Jelena Jankovic, 6-4, 5-7, 9-7, to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open.

“It was crazy,” Kuznetsova admitted in her inimitable way after the match. “I was up set and 4-1 with a double break. Then I found myself down 3-0 and 15-40 on my serve in third set.

“It was a bit insane, but it’s a tennis match, anything can happen; it’s never done until you shake the hand.”

Kuznetsova is no stranger to long matches in Australia, having narrowly lost to Schiavone, 6-4, 1-6, 16-14 in what remains the longest Grand Slam match in WTA history back at four hours and 44 minutes in 2011.

There were few signs from the outset that her encounter against Jankovic would approach that duration, as the Russian raced out to a set and double break lead, serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set. Jankovic turned the tables on Kuznetsova at the 11th hour to win the final three games of the second set and force a decider.

Serving second in the final set, the No.8 seed twice fell behind a break as Jankovic served for a 5-2 lead. Kuznetsova promptly broke back and earned a chance to serve out the match; not to be outdone, Jankovic leveled proceedings at five games apiece and kept things on serve until the fateful 15th game.

“It’s so tough, especially after three and a half hours of playing, that one of us had to lose,” Jankovic said after the match. “Unfortunately, it was me. I’m quite disappointed after such a battle, and it’s not easy to accept. I had my chances and I gave myself the opportunity to win the match.

“After 3-0, I wasn’t making as many first serves in; I don’t know if it was because I got tired spending a lot of hours out there. I haven’t competed much, and my percentage of first serves went down, so I couldn’t hold my serve for a while.

“I still have to work hard to get back to my best level, but at the end, Sveta was fitter than me in the end. I tried so hard, but I couldn’t move anymore and she was the one still standing.”

Svetlana #Kuznetsova is through after 3 hours and 36 mins #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/kMr2owinb5

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 20, 2017

The third time proved lucky for the three-time Australian Open quarterfinalist, who served out the win on her first match point after three hours and 36 minutes on court.

Up next for Kuznetsova is No.24 seed and compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who earned the biggest upset thus far on Day 5 by knocking out No.11 seed Elina Svitolina in three sets.

4R awaits Svetlana #Kuznetsova #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/qyd07fiQcp

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 20, 2017

THE WINNERS

Simona Halep won her third title of 2016 with a decisive 7-6(2), 6-3 victory at the Rogers Cup over No.10 seed Madison Keys, moving up to No.3 in the world and increasing her winning streak to 10 straight matches.

“I like being here in Montréal a lot. It feels like being in Europe, like I’ve said many times,” Halep said. “With all the Romanians, I felt like I was at home. Many people were coming every day, not just today. It was an amazing atmosphere down there.

“The man that announced us on the court today said two words in Romanian, so that motivated me a lot. I said that I have to win.”

WTA Insider Live Blog: point-by-point analysis. | Watch highlights here.

Two-time Grand Slam champions Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina reunited after nearly a year apart at the start of the European clay court season, winning their first title of the season at the Rogers Cup, knocking out singles champion Simona Halep and Monica Niculescu, 6-3, 7-6(5).

The Russians, who are a part of the delegation competing at the Olympic tennis event in Rio, are using Montréal as a testing ground for their renewed partnership. The duo has combined for two Grand Slam titles in the past, and now have their sights set on Olympic gold.

“Hopefully it’s going to help us in Rio for sure,” Vesnina said. “We’re playing here in Montréal because everyone wants to get match rhythm, get some wins and some confidence. Doubles is always tricky so it’s good to have some big wins ahead of Rio.”

Read the match recap here.

RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of August 1, 2016.

Simona Halep (ROU) +2 (No.5 to 3): With her win at the Rogers Cup, Halep inches up two ranking spots to No.3. She started out the year at No.2 and dipped as low as No.7 following a string of disappointing midseason results.

Daria Kasatkina (RUS) +6 (No.33 to 27): The 19-year-old’s breakthrough continued in Montréal last week, where she reached the quarterfinal to climb to a career high ranking of No.27.

Camila Giorgi (ITA) +9 (No.77 to 68): Italian qualifier Giorgi reached the second round at Montreal, bumping her up to No.68.

Kristina Kucova (SVK) +44 (121 to 77): Kucova’s Cinderella run from qualifying to her first WTA Premier-level semifinal in Montréal earned her the week’s biggest ranking jump to a career high spot at No.77.  

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS

Brasil Tennis Cup
Florianopolis, Brazil
International | $226,750 | Hard, Outdoor
Sunday, July 31 – Friday, August 5

Jiangxi Women’s Tennis Open
Nanchang, China
International | $226,750 | Hard, Outdoor
Monday, August 1 – Sunday, August 7

Olympic Tennis Event
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
– | $0 | Hard, Outdoor
Saturday, August 6 – Sunday, August 14

Western & Southern Open
Cincinnati, USA
Premier | $2,503,250 | Hard, Outdoor
Monday, August 15 – Sunday, August 21

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

MELBOURNE, Australia – The second week is about to get underway at the Australian Open, and World No.1 Angelique Kerber and French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza headlining Day 7 Down Under.

We preview all the day’s biggest matchups right here on wtatennis.com.

Sunday, Fourth Round

[1] Angelique Kerber (GER #1) vs CoCo Vandeweghe (USA #35)
Head-to-head: Kerber leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Vandeweghe is one of four Americans in the Round of 16.

After two tough matches to start her title defense, Kerber looked much stronger in an emphatic third round win over Kristyna Pliskova. The top seed faced down the Czech youngster’s intimidating serve by winning more than half of her points on return as she advanced into the second week for the second straight year.

Her next opponent is into the second week of a major tournament for just the second time in her career, as CoCo Vandeweghe recovered from 4-2 in the final set against Eugenie Bouchard to pull off the win. Vandeweghe hit 11 aces and won 85% of her first serve to topple the former World No.5, and will need a similarly efficient serving day against the defending champion.

Can Kerber keep her hopes of a third Grand Slam title alive?

Sorana Cirstea (ROU #78) vs [7] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #7)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Cirstea is enjoying her best Grand Slam finish since the 2009 French Open.

Muguruza’s first week in Melbourne could well serve as a microcosm of her ups and downs since winning her maiden major title last spring. While the Spaniard hasn’t dropped a set through three wins, she still had a scare halfway through her first round, when she took a medical timeout for fear of exascerbating the right thigh injury that forced her to retire at the Brisbane International.

Despite the hiccup, Muguruza has played her best tennis at a major tournament since last year’s Roland Garros, and will be a tough out for Cirstea, a former World No.21.

The Romanian appeared to be at the height of her career just three years ago when she roared into the Rogers Cup final, but a shoulder injury stunted her progress and led her to re-work her service motion. Winning her first matches in Melbourne since 2014, Cirstea bettered her previous best finish Down Under with wins over Irina Khromacheva, No.10 seed Carla Suárez Navarro, and an in-form Alison Riske.

Can Cirstea cause the first big upset of the second week?

Around the Grounds…

Starting off Day 7 on Rod Laver Arena is an all-Russian affair between No.8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and rival No.24 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who stunned No.11 seed Elina Svitolina in three sets. No.13 seed Venus Williams follows on Laver against qualifier Mona Barthel.