Stuttgart: Kerber Interview
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her win in the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her win in the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Laura Siegemund outlasted an in-form Venus Williams, 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-5, to win her second three-setter in three days and sail into the third round of the Volvo Car Open.
“I have no idea!” she said during her on-court interview when asked how she pulled off the win over the 2004 champion. “It was a really good match; it was going up and down. I just tried to believe in my game, and if I was down, I told myself I was going to get more chances.”
Siegemund reached the quarterfinals last year in Charleston, kicking off an impressive clay court campaign that led her into the finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix at home in Stuttgart.
Against Venus, the German veteran was hardly overawed by the five-time Wimbledon winner, who was coming off strong results at the BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open, where she reached the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively.
.@LauraSiegemund levels the final set in style!
Four all! #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/WTOsyT8Bm8
— WTA (@WTA) April 5, 2017
Down match point in the second set, Venus fought back and broke Siegemund as she served for the match, eventually powering through the ensuing tiebreak to level the match.
“I had a hard time finding an aggressive game at the beginning of the third set, playing really short, and she plays really well when she can put pressure on you. It was an amazing performance from her as well,” said Siegemund.
What a rally from @LauraSiegemund to save a second match point! #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/Lzy5XPmfgr
— WTA (@WTA) April 5, 2017
Siegemund twice pulled back from a break in the third, and saved two match points of her own as Venus served for the match at 5-4, reeling off the final three games to reach the round of 16.
“I tried my best to think this could be the best match she’ll ever play in her life, honestly,” Venus said in her post-match press conference. “I basically won the match but still lost.
“I really played the best game I could. I pretty much hit winners, but she hit winners back on me, and I just didn’t have any answers for that. I don’t know much more that I could do. I mean, there were some errors I made in the beginning, but when push came to shove, I feel like I did the right things, but somehow inexplicably came up empty.”
In all, the two played phenomenal offense throughout, each hitting more winners than errors, with Siegemund leading Venus 52 to 45, and hitting 41 unforced errors to Venus’ 39.
Unreal tennis from @LauraSiegemund! ? #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/IiKImzXwcy
— WTA (@WTA) April 5, 2017
“It gives me a lot of confidence, because I was pretty unlucky this year,” Siegemund said. “I’ve had a lot of these kinds of matches, but I was losing them, and you start to doubt.
“Now, I feel very confident on clay, and I think I showed I still have some good tennis in my hands.”
Up next for Siegemund will be the winner of the match between doubles partners Lucie Safarova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
First Top 10 win of 2017!@LauraSiegemund saves TWO MATCH POINTS to beat Venus Williams 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-5 at @VolvoCarOpen! pic.twitter.com/PjMR97mdW7
— WTA (@WTA) April 5, 2017
Highlights from final round action at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Carla Suárez Navarro reached her first quarterfinal of 2017 with a comprehensive win over countrywoman Sara Sorribes Tormo at the Abierto GNP Seguros.
Daria Kasatkina takes on Irina-Camelia Begu in the quarterfinals of the Volvo Car Open.
After a thrilling three set match on Charleston’s Stadium court, good friends Daria Kasatkina and Daria Gavrilova met at the net for an amusing attempt at a fake-out handshake.
Three-time champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova looked on course for a fourth Abierto GNP Seguros title after taking down No.3 seed Caroline Garcia in straight sets and booking a place into the final.
MADRID Spain – The seeds in the lower half of the draw will make their 2016 BNP Paribas debut on Saturday at Indian Wells, including 2016 Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber.
Saturday, First Round
[12] Elina Svitolina (UKR #17) vs. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL #43)
Head-to-head: Svitolina leads 1-0
Key Stat: Svitolina’s first Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance came last year on clay at the French Open.
A solid start to Svitolina’s season – one that saw her capture her fourth career title in Kuala Lumpur – came to a thudding halt in a rain-interrupted opening round loss to Alexandra Panova in Bogota. Nonetheless, the Ukranian youngster will look to rebound against 2009 US Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer. Wickmayer reached the third round of the Miami Open, taking out Lucie Safarova en route, and her best result came in Acapulco, where she reached the semifinals – falling to eventual champion Sloane Stephens.
Both have yet to win a match on clay, but their only previous meeting came on the terre battue last spring, when Svitolina dropped four games on the Belgian en route to the quarterfinals of the French Open.
Svitolina is the steadier of the two, but the conditions in the Caja Magica could lend themselves better to the fiery Wickmayer’s aggressive play.
Pick: Svitolina in three
[16] Sloane Stephens (USA #21) vs. Teliana Pereira (BRA #84)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Stephens has gone on to win the title at every tournament in which she has won a match.
Sloane Stephens has had a season full of highs and lows to start 2016; despite earning three titles in Auckland, Acapulco, and Charleston, the American went out in the opening round of the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Miami. Stephens will try to get on another title-winning roll in her first match in Madird. Clay courter Teliana Pereira enjoyed a hugely successful season in 2015, one where she won her first WTA title in Bogota and earned a career-high ranking of No.43 last October.
Olympic pressure may be starting to get to the Brazilian, who lost her in the first round of her title defense to qualifier Catalina Pella in three grueling sets.
Pick: Stephens in two
Around the grounds: An all-Italian battle will take place on Court Manolo Santana as No.15 seed Sara Errani takes on Camila Giorgi, while Manhattan-born Spanish wildcard Paula Badosa Gibert opens the night session against Alizé Cornet. Badosa Gibert won last year’s junior French Open, perhaps an auspicious sign given how quickly 2014 champion Daria Kasatkina has come into her own in the year following her title run. In doubles, No.5 seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic begin their quest for a third straight title against Anna-Lena Groenefeld and CoCo Vandeweghe.
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Kicking off finals Sunday at the Volvo Car Open, World No.1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands treated the Charleston crowd to a rousing doubles match alongside partner and Australian Open co-champion Lucie Safarova.
Up against a newly formed Czech duo in Lucie Hradecka and Katerina Siniakova, Mattek-Sands and Safarova recovered from a tough second set to rebound in the match tie-break, winning, 6-4, 1-6, 10-7, to take home their second title of the season – and Mattek-Sands’ third overall.
The win triggered a lengthy celebration from two of the tour’s biggest personalities, and even a revival of the Shaun T-choereographed dance the two debuted after winning in Melbourne.
Check out some the best photos from after the match right here, courtesy of the Volvo Car Open:
RABAT, Morocco – Timea Bacsinszky saved some of her best tennis for Saturday’s final against Marina Erakovic; the Swiss star faced few problems against the former World No.39, 6-2, 6-1, to capture her first title of 2016 at the GP SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem.
Watch live action from Prague & Rabat this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Bacsinszky reached the semifinals of last year’s French Open, and appears to be settling into similar form after racing through Rabat – losing just one set in five matches. Against Erakovic, she played a near-perfect match over the course of an hour and seven minutes, winning 75% of the Kiwi’s second serve points without facing a break point off her own delivery. Her fourth career WTA title, the only WTA tournament in Africa Bacsinszky’s first on red clay – all three of her previous victories came on hardcourts.
It might not have been the ideal finish for Erakovic in the final, but it was still an awe-inspiring week from the qualifier, who had nearly dropped outside the world’s Top 200 due to various injuries. Taking out Fed Cup hero Kiki Bertens in three grueling sets, the 28-year-old jumps up nearly 60 spots to within spitting distance of the Top 100.
More to come…