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Champion's Corner: Azarenka

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MIAMI, FL, USA – Victoria Azarenka is a Champion’s Corner veteran. With three titles already in 2016, including two of the biggest titles of the season at the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open, Azarenka has surged up the rankings from No.22 at the start of the year to No.5. With her title at the Miami Open on Saturday, Azarenka vaulted to No.1 in the Road to Singapore rankings and capped off a jailbreaking start that sees her back where she belongs and primed for a charge at the top.

WTA Insider caught up with Vika on the very short ride from Crandon Park Tennis Center to Crandon Park Beach for the traditional Champion’s photo, which involved drones, shouting photographers, and a little bit of champagne. With the first quarter in the books, Azarenka deserves some R&R. But she insists she’s as hungry as ever. Her next scheduled tournament will come at the Madrid Open, where she has made the final twice.

WTA Insider: What are you most pleased with about your last four weeks?

Azarenka: Really just day in, day out work. It’s been a really long month and to be able to contain this determination and that intensity throughout all the matches is definitely not an easy task. The last couple of days especially has been a lot of expectations and pressure from the outside to complete the Sunshine Double and so I’m very proud that I kept myself present, kept myself really focused and focused on the job before anything else.

WTA Insider: You talk a lot about staying in the moment and how important that is for you; is that something you find difficult to do?

Azarenka: Once you understand it, it’s not that difficult, but to get to that point is just every day work. That’s what’s difficult. You just have to be willing to do that; if you are, that makes it easier.

WTA Insider: Now that the four weeks are over and there’s an opportunity to decompress, eat some pizza, can you give some insight into just how stressful it all was? How tense did you feel the last four weeks, or after Indian Wells with everything building up towards completing the sweep?

Azarenka: I didn’t feel too tense because I felt I did a really good job managing my time when I’m not playing. So that definitely helped me keep my composure and [stay] relaxed. Off the court, I tried to do whatever makes me happy. I didn’t feel stress but it was intense; it’s definitely been back-to-back [tournaments] and that makes it difficult. To make that switch from one [climate] to another was also not easy. But I felt good that I managed my recovery time very well.

WTA Insider: You strike me as someone who likes to be a part of the conversation. You’re now No. 1 in the RTS, No.5 in the rankings, and lead the tour in match-wins and titles. Do you want the expectations? Do you embrace it?

Azarenka: I don’t really look for expectations. I think that it creates a certain type of pressure, and for me pressure is something that I want to go after, something that I want to face, and the challenge I always want to face. I’m never going to be the type of person who runs away from a challenge, no matter how hard it is, because that’s what gets me excited and a hardened competitor.

But being a part of talks, I don’t listen to it that much, because it’s not interesting to me. Opinions, talks, it’s all more for people who are outside the sport. For me, I need to work and focus on my work, because it’s not going to happen if I don’t put the work in. Having that mentality, I appreciate the attention and everything but I don’t look for it. It doesn’t make me play worse or better. It’s irrelevant to me.

WTA Insider: Looking ahead to the clay court season. It’s not your best surface but you threw down the gauntlet in your post-match press conference about wanting to prove people wrong. Are you going to take more time off to train or are you looking more towards tournament play?

Azarenka: Definitely going to take a tournament preparation block to really put in some specific work for the clay court season off the court. Definitely there will be some adjustments going into the clay court season, that’s for sure. I don’t think you can ever change my game dramatically, but I think this year especially, I’ve already brought a lot more variety with a lot more power this year, keep working on my serve. Mastering the movement on clay will be important to me.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Madison Keys’ comeback from wrist injury may not have ended on the note that she wanted, but the 22-year-old considered her Round of 16 run at the BNP Paribas Open a success.

Keys underwent left wrist surgery during the off-season, which ruled her out of the first two months of the year. Playing in her first tournament, she scored two solid wins over Mariana Duque-Mariño and Naomi Osaka, before losing to a steady Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday night.

“Funny enough, this is the furthest I got in Indian Wells, so go me!” Keys said after the match. “Obviously it sucks, but I’m happy I could play three matches. Caroline played well tonight. I thought it was pretty tight for someone who has played 20 matches this year and I’ve played three.”

Earlier in the week, Keys said her expectations for her first tournament back were fairly low.

“I was, like, if I get a set, I’ll be happy. It’s always tough to come back and everyone is in the middle of their season. I definitely had really low expectations, which is probably why, when I was up there and serving for the match in the first round, I was, like, ‘Oh, this is exciting. I didn’t think this was going to happen.'”

Keys sustained the left wrist injury at the 2015 US Open but played the entire 2016 season while managing the pain. It ended up being her best season to date, as she broke into the Top 10, made the biggest final of her career at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and qualified for her first BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

“I don’t think I really compromised my game,” Keys said, referring to playing last season with the injury. “If anything, it made me play my game better, looking more for forehands, doing what I could, maybe not going for the winner down the line from 16 feet behind the baseline, playing a lot smarter.

“More than anything, I think it made me a lot more mentally tougher knowing it’s going to hurt, it’s going to be tough, but just wanting to make Singapore that badly, I was just going to do everything that I could to get there.

“I think it was after Wimbledon I found out it’s not going to go away and that I was going to need surgery to fix it. So the original plan was, ‘Okay, after US Open, [have the surgery], be ready for Australian Open.’

“And then after US Open, I was 9th in the Race to Singapore. There was no way you’re going to get me off of a tennis court right now. Then it was, okay, we’re going to do everything we can to get to Singapore. And then, if you don’t make Singapore, we’ll call it there. If you do, which I did, I got home on the 30th or the 31st of October and I had surgery November 2nd.”

Keys’ wrist was immobilized in a cast after surgery, but once that cast was removed her panic began to set in.

“For the longest time, I still couldn’t turn my steering wheel and I couldn’t use my left hand doing this and that,” she said. “It was tough, and it was really stressful.

“There were so many times when I’d be fine for, like, a week or a month and then all of a sudden I’d be, ‘Oh, my God, guys. What if I never win a match again? What if it’s over?’

“And that’s when my team was really great about, Take a breath. It is fine. You won matches [in 2016] when every time you hit the ball you were in horrible amounts of pain. You can do this.”

Part of that team includes Lindsay Davenport, who rejoined Keys’ team during the off-season. The two worked together during the 2015 season and under Davenport’s tutelage Keys made her first major semifinal at the Australian Open. Family commitments led to a split but so far the reunion has been exactly what Keys needed.

“I think we both came to the table knowing what I could give, what she could give, all of that,” Keys said. “I have been lucky that I have also had the help of USTA in Orlando. So the weeks that she can’t do, I have a really good base to go home to and practice there. So that’s been really good. I think we both know what to expect.”

Going under the knife is never ideal for any athlete, but in Keys’ case there may have been a silver lining. In addition to spending time with her family – “It was nice to live a normal life for a bit” – the delayed start to her season also gave her a block of uninterrupted time to work on her fitness and improve her game.

“I worked on my slice a ton, obviously, because I had months where I couldn’t do anything else,” Keys said. “There were a lot of things I got to work on, which was great. And also, I got to work with Scott [Byrnes, her trainer] for the longest period of time without a tournament coming up. We worked on a lot of just little things we haven’t been able to.

“So I feel like I’m in the best shape that I have probably ever been in. Just feeling more comfortable coming to the net, using a slice, all of that. In a lot of ways it was really good to kind of just have the time to work on my game.”

Keys said the wrist is fully healed but she went into the tournament wondering how it would hold up through multiple matches. Under the duress of three matches, those questions were answered positively.

“I’m definitely excited to get back on the grind,” Keys said. “In a weird way I miss losing, because it means I was actually here.

“We do get to do what we love. I think that’s really special, and I think sometimes we get really caught up in the winning and the losing and rankings and all of that. At the end of the day, we get to play a sport that we love for our jobs, and just this whole time has made me realize how truly blessed I am to be able to do that.”

Keys’ next event is next week’s Miami Open.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – No.6 seed Martina Hingis and Chan Yung-Jan are becoming one of the new teams to beat in 2017, roaring into their second final in just three events since pairing up in the Middle East, outlasting top seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova, 7-6(7), 7-5 at the BNP Paribas Open.

“This is a big win for us at a huge event,” Chan said after the match. “I’m happy we’re in the final because it was a really close match against the best team in the tournament. It’s good for our confidence to win this match. The key was our ability to put everything together when we had to. We stayed strong together as a team, even in the tie-break and on deciding points.”

Hingis and Chan, who often goes by her English name, Latisha, reached their first final at the Qatar Total Open, and have been equally impressive in the California desert, ousting No.4 seed Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova en route to the final four.

“Lucie and Bethanie are the No.1 team, and not for no reason,” Hingis said. “They’ve had a great couple of years and know each other so well. I played them twice a couple years ago and was unsuccessful, so it was nice to go out there with Latisha and see how we’d end up. It’s only our third tournament, so I’m definitely pleased with this win.”

Mattek-Sands and Safarova had been forced to a match tie-break against another new team in Kristina Mladenovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova, but the Australian Open champions couldn’t find the extra magic on Thursday as their eight-match winning streak came to a close in the searing heat.

“It was hot all week! We tried not to have a dip, but at a set and 4-1, we were in the middle of an emotional mindgame with the nerves. Everything was involved, but it was great for the crowd to see a match like that; it was doubles at a very high level, and even if it had gone the other way, we couldn’t have been disappointed losing to one of the best teams out there.”

Once rivals, now partners, Hingis and Chan feel they’ve grown by leaps and bounds since their first tournament together, and are pleasantly surprised with how quickly their bond has grown in the last four weeks.

“At the beginning, we were both excited when we decided to play together, but we didn’t know each other that well beyond playing against each other,” Chan said. “We had to build the trust between us. After the tournaments in the Middle East, we built up a greater relationship between the two of us.”

Standing between them and their first title as a team will be the winner of the second semfinal between Czech stars Lucie Hradecka and Katerina Siniakova and No.2 seeds, Olympic Gold medalists Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.

“I played Siniakova and Hradecka at the Taiwan Open with [my sister] Angel in the final. We know Lucie very well, and Siniakova is a young gun playing well. Whoever wins, we’ll have to step in and be aggressive”

“Vesnina and Makarova are another top team; I’ve played them a lot as well, and always great matches like the finals of Wimbledon and the Olympics,” Hingis added. “These are the matches you look forward to because the last couple matches have shown where women’s doubles is at and I’m proud to say I’m part of it.

“Either way we’re trying to go for the title!”

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Are you ready for prime time? It’s semifinal Friday at the 2017 BNP Paribas Open and we’re previewing both matchups right here at WTATennis.com

Friday

Semifinals

[14] Elena Vesnina (RUS #15) vs. [28] Kristina Mladenovic (FRA #26)
Head-to-head: Vesnina leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Two Russians have reached the semifinals at the BNP Paribas Open for the first time since 2013.

Two former Grand Slam doubles champions will battle it out on the singles court on Friday for the right to reach their first ever Premier Mandatory final when Kristina Mladenovic and Elena Vesnina lock horns for the third time. Mladenovic edged Caroline Wozniacki in three sets in the quarters on Thursday, ending a three-match losing streak against the Dane and assuring herself of a spot in the Top 20 next week, but the Frenchwoman would like to prolong her stay in Southern California a few days longer. “Every day I go out there on the court, in the gym practicing, it’s for moment like that,” she said after defeating Wozniacki for the first time. “So I’m not getting too excited. I’m just super satisfied that I am on these kind of stages right now and trying to use my chances.”

Vesnina fought past Venus Williams on Thursday to secure her spot in the semifinals. The Russian is a three-time major champion on the doubles court but is just now starting to blossom in singles. She reached the Wimbledon semifinals last year and could climb to a career-high ranking of No.13 in the world with a title at Indian Wells. But the veteran knows that she’ll have her hands full with Mladenovic. “Definitely she’s having a great season,” Vesnina said of the Frenchwoman. “It’s going to be tough match. She’s an upcoming player. We played couple of times, but two, three years ago, and totally different story now.”

Will it be the Russian who flies into the final, or can Mladenovic upend her and keep her hopes of becoming the first Frenchwoman to win the BNP Paribas Open title alive?

Pick: Vesnina in three

[3] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #3) vs. [8] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #8)
Head-to-head: Tied, 1-1
Key Stat: Both of the pair’s previous meetings have gone three sets.

Never mind the shy demeanor. Karolina Pliskova is very much a tennis player en vogue right now. She’s a rising star that possesses an electrifying game and has been tabbed by pundits as likely to become one of the game’s dominant forces for many years to come. On Friday the menacing Czech will square off against a player who has been there, done that and is now experiencing an inspiring renaissance. Two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova is back at the top of the game after six years outside of the Top 10, and she is relishing the experience of reaching the BNP Paribas Open semifinals for the first time since 2008. “If I look back, for sure, it was very long time ago,” she said of her last deep run at Indian Wells on Wednesday after taking out compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. “So it’s great. I’m enjoying it much more now, because now I know the value of this.”

This intriguing match-up of resurgent veteran and blossoming star will be a bit of a chess match between two stylistically opposite players. Kuznetsova will hope to use variety and get her opponent the move while Pliskova knows she’ll need to dictate, shorten points, and be decisive from the baseline. “We had two matches, two times, three-setters, and two times was really tough,” Pliskova said of her previous encounters with the Russian. “I have to play well. I just keep the same game plan and have to be aggressive… And don’t let her play, otherwise she’s going to let me run. That’s what she probably wants me to do.”

Pick: Pliskova in three

By the Numbers:

1 – Mladenovic is the only semifinalist that has yet to win multiple WTA titles.

20 – By reaching the semifinals Mladenovic has assured herself a spot inside the Top 20 when next week’s rankings are released.

19-2 – Karolina Pliskova’s record in 2017. The Czech is bidding to become the WTA’s first 20-match winner today.

27 – Number of career wins Svetlana Kuznetsova has achieved at Indian Wells. The Russian is now tied for sixth all-time with Martin Hingis.

2011 – The only year a Frenchwoman has reached the final at Indian Wells. Marion Bartoli lost to Caroline Wozniacki in three sets.

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WTA Frame Challenge: Who’s On Top?

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

All season long we’ve been challenging your favorite players to a skill test that you may not see on the courts, but needless to say, is a tough task – and it’s all right here on wtatennis.com.

The WTA Frame Challenge is a game of keepy-uppy using a tennis ball and any part of the racquet frame. We challenge players to see how many times in a row they can keep the tennis ball in the air, and capture it all on video.

Here’s how the WTA Frame Challenge Leaderboard stands:
48   Sam Stosur
28   Bethanie Mattek-Sands (watch it here)
24   Carla Suárez Navarro (watch it here)
15   Jelena Jankovic (watch it here)
12   Andrea Petkovic (watch it here)
10   Casey Dellacqua
10   Daria Gavrilova (watch it here)
6     Monica Puig (watch it here)

While Stosur is in the lead for now, it could all change when the next WTA star takes the challenge. Stay tuned…

Find all of the latest WTA Frame Challenge videos right here!

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Elena Vesnina may have been victorious in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open – but she immediately took the time to pay tribute to her defeated opponent, Venus Williams.

“This win today against Venus really means a lot for me,” said the delighted Russian. “It’s never easy to play against her. She’s a great champion and always fighting till the end.”

Vesnina praised the seven-time Grand Slam winner’s dedication to tennis – and admired her love for the sport.

“She’s a great example of how you can love tennis,” she said. “You know, for so many years, she brings so much passion and love to this game. She’s coming and giving everything, you know. She’s always fighting, always enjoying, smiling. You know, you can see she’s, like, little girl on the court, actually, enjoying more than half of the WTA Tour. And we have to learn from her, you know, how she’s appreciating what she’s doing.

“I think maybe it came to her maybe kind of few years ago. Maybe when she was young she was a bit different, but now she’s totally enjoying herself and she’s, like, inspiring everybody around her, you know, her and Serena, as well. Because really what they bring to the tennis, to the woman’s tennis, is just amazing.”

The 30-year-old had taken a 3-0 lead against the American in the first set – and then suddenly found herself under pressure.

“She was missing some easy shots, she looked tired and slow on the court,” Vesnina recalled. “Then, all of a sudden, she started moving around, hitting great shots, winners from all over the place.

“And in this momentum, I kind of lost my rhythm, because I didn’t know what to expect. I played against Venus, I don’t know, four times. I kind of knew the way she’s playing, hitting, serving, and today was totally different story. Today she was playing totally different tactic match.

“Yeah, so it was not easy. When she won the second set, I was, like, I saw previous matches that she was down with match point with a set point, and I was like, ‘Uh-oh, it’s coming back again. I’m going to be another victim of Venus. I don’t want. I want to win this. I want this match.'”

So Vesnina battled back in the decider, revealing that she was pleased with the reserves of courage she drew upon to take the match 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 – particularly because she was 0-40 down in the final game.

“I was actually very proud of myself, how I held my nerve. I was love-40 down, but, like, I didn’t even think about that it’s love-40. It was point by point, trying to create a good rally, trying to move her around.

“It was difficult a little bit for me. I was struggling with the first-serve percentage in the end of the third set, so it was really important with me. I start[ed] serving with a little bit less power, and a bit more pace.

“[A] couple of kind of big points she gave me unforced error, and I stick to this game. You know, I was, like, I [am] never gonna lose this game. I was really fighting like it’s the last game of my life.”

In the semifinals, Vesnina will face Kristina Mladenovic – a rival who offers a fresh range of challenges.

“I need to think how I need to play against her, because I have couple of thoughts on my mind,” she mused. “She’s a great doubles player, as well. You know, so she’s kind of player on all the court, you know. She can come into the net. She’s using the dropshots, slices. So it’s going to be difficult match – but on the other hand, it’s very exciting to play the semifinal match here in Indian Wells.”

 

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