Tennis News

CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Things are heating up on the hardcourts at the Western & Southern Open and wtatennis.com contributor Chris Oddo is on hand to preview Day 2’s must-see action.

Tuesday, First and Second Round

Center Court
[4] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #3) vs. CoCo Vandeweghe (USA #33)
Head-to-head: Vandeweghe leads, 2-0

Key Stat: Vandeweghe is sporting a 4-0 record against the Top 10 in 2016.
Neither player has ever been past the second round in Cincinnati, but that is about to change on Tuesday for either CoCo Vandeweghe or Garbiñe Muguruza as they prepare to square off for the first time in two years. Though Muguruza has had the more storied career, it is Vandeweghe who has taken their previous two meetings, which both occurred in 2014. It’s been an excellent year for the 24-year-old American. She has risen to a career-high ranking (No.29 on June 20) and at Wimbledon was seeded at a major for the first time. But Vandeweghe’s achievements pale in comparison to those of the Spaniard. Muguruza rolled to the Roland Garros title in June, defeating Serena Williams in the final. Though the 22-year-old has struggled a bit since her shining moment in Paris – going 3-3 in her last six – Muguruza says she feels refreshed and ready to tackle the Cincinnati challenge. “I was happy to live the experience in Rio, and I’m happy to be back,” she told reporters on Monday. “Coming here, I’m motivated to have a great tournament because I haven’t played a lot of matches. I’m looking forward to it.”

Pick: Muguruza in three

Grandstand
[17] Elina Svitolina (UKR #19) vs. [Q] Daria Gavrilova (AUS #47)
Head-to-head: Tied, 1-1

Key Stat: Gavrilova has won six straight sets since the beginning of qualifying in Cincinnati.
Making her second appearance at the Western & Southern Open, 22-year-old Daria Gavrilova zoomed into the second round with a 7-5, 6-3 shutdown of France’s Caroline Garcia on Monday. The Australian qualifier won 32 of 38 first-serve points and didn’t face a break point in winning her 18th match of 2016, and she hopes that having three matches under her belt in Cincinnati will help her when she faces Elina Svitolina on Tuesday. The Ukrainian reached the semifinals last year in Cincinnati, and she’s fresh off a quarterfinal appearance at the Olympics that saw her achieve her first victory over World No.1 Serena Williams. With both players in form, expect a hard-fought battle between feisty players, both of whom are eager to push deep into a quality draw.

Pick: Gavrilova in three

Stadium 3
Andrea Petkovic (GER #42) vs. Lucie Safarova (CZE #28)
Head-to-head: Petkovic leads, 4-3

Key Stat: Safarova is bidding for her 400th WTA win on Tuesday.
Two tried-and-true veterans will battle for the eighth time on Tuesday, with each hoping to gain some much-needed traction on the hardcourts – and their 400th career win! Safarova, who owns a career record of 399-282, hopes to crack the milestone on Tuesday and make it three consecutive hardcourt wins over Petkovic. Meanwhile, the 28-year-old German could pass the mark by reaching the quarterfinals. Petkovic and Safarova are each hovering around the .500 mark for the season and could badly use a deep run here in Cincinnati to bolster their confidence ahead of the season’s final Grand Slam in New York. With the US Open less than two weeks away the time is ripe for making statements. Who will make theirs on Tuesday?

Pick: Safarova in two

Around the grounds…
Nineteen-year-old Daria Kasatkina will make her Cincinnati debut when she takes on lucky loser Tsvetana Pironkova on Court No.10. Kasatkina, who reached the Olympic quarterfinals last week in Rio, is playing with a career-high ranking of 24. Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard qualified for the main draw and will open with a tricky encounter against Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic. Bouchard won the pair’s first three meetings but Strycova has taken the last two, including a 6-1, 6-0 trouncing in Rome this spring. Strycova is coming off a Bronze medal performance in women’s doubles at the Rio Games.

NEW YORK, NY, USA – With the year’s final Grand Slam event just a few weeks away, the USTA announced today the recipients of main draw and qualifying wildcards for the US Open, which begins on August 29.

Among the recipients for main draw wildcards are two-time NCAA singles champion Danielle Collins, 2016 USTA Girls’ 18s National Champion Kayla Day, young American Lauren Davis, USTA Pro Circuit US Open Wild Card challenge winner Sofia Kenin, former Top 50 player Vania King, and Rio’s mixed doubles Olympic gold medalist Bethanie Mattek-Sands, as well as France’s Virginie Razzano.

As part of a reciprocal agreement with the USTA, Tennis Australia will award one additional main draw wild card to a player who will be announced at a later date.

In addition to the eight US Open women’s singles main draw wild cards, the USTA also announced the eight women who have been awarded wild card entries into the US Open Qualifying Tournament, which will be held August 23-26 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

One additional US Open qualifying wild card will be awarded to the winner of the 2015 US Open National Playoffs – Women’s Championship, taking place August 19-22 in New Haven, Connecticut.

Here’s the full list of wildcards announced so far:

Main Draw
Kayla Day (USA)
Lauren Davis (USA)
Sofia Kenin (USA)
Vania King (USA)
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA)
Virginie Razzano (FRA)

Qualifying
Amanda Anisimova (USA)
Francesca Di Lorenzo (USA)
Nicole Frenkel (USA)
Ellie Halbauer (USA)
Jamie Loeb (USA)
Raveena Kingsley (USA)
Melanie Oudin (USA)
Laura Robson (GBR)

MELBOURNE, Australia – Six-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams breezed into the second week Down Under, defeating countrywoman Nicole Gibbs, 6-1, 6-3.

“I feel like I have been able to do pretty good,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I have been doing the things I have been doing in practice, and hopefully I can build up on this.

“That’s all I want to do.”

On RLA now #Serena fighting for a place in the 4R #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/HMb4sxOs5r

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2017

While Serena was celebrating her 19th anniversary of the first time she played on Rod Laver Arena (1998, against sister Venus), Gibbs was not only making her debut on Melbourne’s biggest court, but she was also in the midst of a career-best result Down Under – knocking out No.25 seed Timea Babos and Irina Falconi earlier this week.

The former World No.1 came into Saturday’s match well-tested with wins over a pair of former Top 10 players in Belinda Bencic and Lucie Safarova, and was in imperious form from start to finish.

“I was so pumped up going against my first two opponents, but I think that helped me out today. She started out really, really well, with a lot of energy.”

Hitting 17 winners and four aces during the 63 minute match, Serena came to net 13 times, winning 12 of those points. Though she was broken in her first attempt serving for the match, the experienced American booked her spot in the next round shortly thereafter, reaching the second week in her last nine appearances in Australia.

Looming in the next round is No.16 seed, Czech veteran Barbora Strycova.

“I have seen her play a lot. She’s always playing. Venus has played her a few times. I saw her play in Sydney. She’s super fit. She has a good game. She’s very aggressive, so that would be nice to play.

“I don’t have anything to prove in this tournament here. Just, you know, doing the best I can.

“Obviously I’m here for one reason. But at the end of the day, this is all bonus for me and I look forward to playing her. I’m ready for her.”

The 2016 Fed Cup heroine won a string of points in the second set of her match against No.21 seed Caroline Garcia, recovering from a 5-3 deficit to win, 6-2, 7-5.

“I won like 16 points from losing 3-5, 15-40,” Strycova said in her post-match press conference. “I didn’t even count and my coach told me so. I was kind of in a zone, so I was very happy about my performance.

“If it’s Serena, I’m looking forward to that match. That’s why you train. That’s why you work hard, to play these matches on these stages and against the best one.”

The 4R awaits @serenawilliams at the #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/1kOSJ3t2lF

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2017

After beating Garcia, Strycova played an interesting guessing game up in the Twitter Blue Room, guessing the identity of several tennis-themed stuffed animals:

.@BaraStrycova joins us in the Twitter Blue Room #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/oCew6EvCkP

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2017

MELBOURNE, Australia – The second week continues at the Australian Open. On Day 8, can No.2 seed Serena Williams and No.5 seed Karolina Pliskova book two of the four remaining spots in the quarterfinals?

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

Monday, Fourth Round

[2] Serena Williams (USA #2) vs [16] Barbora Strycova (CZE #16)
Head-to-head: Serena leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Neither Serena nor Strycova have dropped a set en route to the second week.

Serena Williams saw her hopes of reclaiming World No.1 brighten when defending champion Angelique Kerber went out at the hands of CoCo Vandeweghe on Sunday. But before she can think of returning to the top of the WTA rankings, she’ll have to get past a fiery veteran in Barbora Strycova, who is in the fourth round of the Australian Open for a second straight year.

Strycova roared back from a 5-3 deficit in the second set, and will be looking to pull of the biggest upset of her career in her first encounter with the 22-time Grand Slam champion since 2012.

Serena has already dispatched former Top 10 players Belinda Bencic and Lucie Safarova along the way; can she continue to improve as Grand Slam No.23 draws closer?

[5] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #5) vs [22] Daria Gavrilova (AUS #26)
Head-to-head: Pliskova leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Pliskova is aiming for her second straight (and second career) Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Brisbane International champion Karolina Pliskova remains undefeated for the season, and takes on another young hopeful in Daria Gavrilova. The Aussie reached the fourth round Down Under for the second year in a row, winning a three-set thriller of her own against Timea Bacsinszky.

Pliskova showed few signs of vulnerability in her first two rounds, but found herself on the brink of defeat against Latvian youngster Jelena Ostapenko, who served for the match in the final set. Fresh off an early pick for best match of 2017, the No.5 seed is back in the second week of a major tournament and will look to widen her head-to-head advantage against Gavrilova, against whom she’s never dropped a set.

The 22-year-old has tended to save her best tennis for her adopted home soil; can she stun Pliskova and earn a career-best Grand Slam result?

Around the Grounds…

No.9 seed Johanna Konta renews her rivalry with No.30 seed Ekaterina Makarova, who pushed the Brit to an 8-6 final set at this very tournament one year ago. A battle of underdogs completes the fourth round line-up as qualifier Jennifer Brady takes on ageless wonder Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who earned her best-ever result at the Australian Open at 34 years old.

The doubles tounament also continues in Melbourne, with No.2 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova taking on Apia International Sydney champs Timea Babos and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, while top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic face No.13 seeds Katarina Srebotnik and Zheng Saisai in the third round.