Bogota: Lara Arruabarrena vs Sara Sorribes Tormo
Lara Arruabarrena takes on Sara Sorribes Tormo in the semifinals of the Claro Open Colsanitas.
Lara Arruabarrena takes on Sara Sorribes Tormo in the semifinals of the Claro Open Colsanitas.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Agnieszka Radwanska held off Eugenie Bouchard at the Australian Open on Wednesday night. Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova continued their collision course.
In arguably the most anticipated second round match-up of the tournament, Radwanska – the form player by far since the US Open, winning more matches and more titles than anyone on the tour, took on Bouchard – a breakthrough star in 2014 who’s been back at her best this year after a tough 2015.
Bouchard came out harder, stepping inside the baseline time and time again and ripping her huge groundstrokes into the corners to build a 4-2 lead. But Radwanska held her ground, clawing back to take the set, 6-4 – she ripped a huge forehand winner on her fifth set point to seal the one set lead.
And she continued to pile it on in the second set, breaking again in the very first game and never really looking back, one last Bouchard error giving the No.4-seeded Radwanska the win, 6-4, 6-2.
“That was a great challenge for me to play somebody like Eugenie in the second round. Definitely not an easy draw. But I think I was doing everything right today,” Radwanska said after the match.
“I hadn’t played against her for a while, but I think she’s definitely playing better now than last season. I think she’s on a good way to come back, and she’s definitely playing much better tennis out there.
“I think in a couple of months we’re going to see her going deeper in the Grand Slams.”
Meanwhile, another blockbuster match-up – Williams against Sharapova – continued to materialize, as the No.1-seeded Williams routed Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Su-Wei, 6-1, 6-2 (read more here) and the No.5-seeded Sharapova powered past Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 6-2, 6-1 (read more here).
Williams and Sharapova will square off in the quarterfinals should they win two more rounds.
A big upset took place in the late night match, with Daria Gavrilova – now playing under the Aussie flag – weathering the power of Petra Kvitova to surprise the No.6 seed, 6-4, 6-4 (read more here).
It was a solid day for the rest of the seeded players, with No.10 seed Carla Suárez Navarro battling back to beat Greek qualifier Maria Sakkari, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-2, No.12 seed Belinda Bencic defeating Timea Babos, 6-3, 6-3, No.13 seed Roberta Vinci carving out a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Irina Falconi, and No.28 seed Kristina Mladenovic hitting through American qualifier Nicole Gibbs, 6-1, 7-6(4).
There was another upset, though, with Kateryna Bondarenko holding off a late surge to take out No.23 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-1, 7-5. Kuznetsova was coming off a title run at the lead-up in Sydney.
And on the outside courts, Kristyna Pliskova – twin sister of Karolina Pliskova – was making history, ripping 31 aces, the most aces in a single match in WTA history (the previous record was 27).
The Czech lefty ended up succumbing to Monica Puig in the end, however, 4-6, 7-6(6), 9-7.
.@MonicaAce93 saves FIVE match points & fends off #WTA record 31 ACES! Edges Kr.Pliskova 4-6, 7-6(6), 9-7! #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/BBLC9TZR3h
— WTA (@WTA) January 20, 2016
Highlights from the semifinal at the Ladies Open Biel Bienne.
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Can Angelique Kerber capture her first gold medal at the Olympic tennis event? Keep up with all the action right here at wtatennis.com!
Hear how defending WTA Finals champion Agnieszka Radwanska prepares for year-long journey to defend her title in Singapore – she currently sits at No.3 on the latest Road to Singapore Leaderboard.
Four countries fight for two spots in the 2017 Fed Cup Final this weekend as Belarus hosts Switzerland, which looks to make its first final in nearly two decades. Half a world away in Florida, the United States finds itself heavily favored against a Czech Republic squad. wtatennis.com previews the semifinals, and all the playoff action as nations look to seal up their positions for 2018.
The #FedCup semifinals are just 2️⃣ days away! Time to get excited! pic.twitter.com/YsLasbpAfb
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) April 20, 2017
Belarus vs. Switzerland
Venue: Chizhovka Arena, Minsk, Belarus
Surface: Hard, Indoor
A Swiss squad at full strength will take on the Cinderella story of this year’s Fed Cup in Minsk for a place in November’s Fed Cup final.
Belarus, without the services of Victoria Azarenka, pulled off a stunning victory against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals in February, as Aliaksandra Sasnovich and teenager Aryna Sabalenka led the red and green to a 4-1 victory. Those two will be tasked with singles action once again, as Sasnovich is slated to play Viktorija Golubic for the second time in three weeks first up on Saturday, while Sabalenka will face Timea Bacsinszky.
?? Belarus and ?? Switzerland meet in this weekend's semifinal, but who will advance to the #FedCupFinal? pic.twitter.com/Sq10xgC1M5
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) April 20, 2017
Should the tie come down to the deciding doubles, Olga Govortsova and 2016 Australian Open girls’ champion Vera Lapko have been tabbed to face Martina Hingis and Belinda Bencic. With a victory, Hingis would appear in a Fed Cup Final for the second time in her career, as she played three rubbers in Switzerland’s 3-2 defeat to Spain in 1998.
Thank you @belarustennis for this beautiful evening! #official #evening @FedCup #BLRSUI pic.twitter.com/6nIR3VBG5D
— Swiss Tennis (@swiss_tennis) April 20, 2017
Belarus and Switzerland last faced off in the World Group II Play-offs in 2012, as Bacsinszky won the deciding rubber against Sasnovich in her team’s 4-1 win.
R1: Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) v Viktorija Golubic (SUI)
R2: Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) v Timea Bacsinszky (SUI)
R3: Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) v Timea Bacsinszky (SUI)
R4: Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) v Viktorija Golubic (SUI)
R5: Olga Govortsova/Vera Lapko (BLR) v Belinda Bencic/Martina Hingis (SUI)
Though she’s not on the court for her country in this tie, Azarenka has been present at the Chizhovka Arena during practice in support of the team, and will be on hand for the weekend’s action.
Former #1 in @FedCup team of Belarus @vika7 and acting #1 @_Sasnovich 🙂 Наша гордость – наши спортсменки!#tennisby #FedCup #BLRSUI pic.twitter.com/9BnQeNjMV1
— BY.TENNIS (@belarustennis) April 20, 2017
Happy to see each other again? @BelindaBencic @TimeaOfficial @vika7 @belarustennis @FedCup #BLRSUI pic.twitter.com/bHJSOnJn2X
— Swiss Tennis (@swiss_tennis) April 20, 2017
Czech Republic vs. USA
Venue: Saddlebrook Resort, Florida, USA
Surface: Clay, Outdoor
It’s not often that the Czech Republic and “underdogs” can be used in the same sentence regarding Fed Cup this decade,
While the Czech Republic has won five of the last five six Fed Cups, the team that’ll face the United States in Florida with a trip to a fourth straight final at stake is a young one. Leading the charge for the Czech Republic is World No.38 Katerina Siniakova, joined by Denisa Allertova alongside debutants Kristyna Pliskova and Marketa Vondrousova.
The best nation in #FedCup history takes on the best nation in the last decade when ?? USA and ?? Czech Republic face off in the semifinal! pic.twitter.com/7pTyv70HX5
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) April 21, 2017
Both Siniakova and Allertova have been named to Czech Fed Cup squads before, while Pliskova and Vondrousova have Fed Cup experience of a different sort. The 17-year-old, who made a stunning run to the title at the Ladies Open Biel Bienne earlier this month, was a member of the team that won the Junior Fed Cup in 2015, while Kristyna called up a team stalwart for a little advice — twin sister and World No.3 Karolina, who’s played in six ties for their country.
“Of course, she told me a lot and I asked a lot of questions,” Kristyna told fedcup.com’s Sandra Harwitt in Florida. “I asked about everything – clothes, the matches, and how is the team.”
For the United States, Australian Open semifinalist Coco Vandeweghe will lead the Americans at home for the second straight tie alongside Shelby Rogers, while World No.1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands will hold down the fort in doubles alongside Lauren Davis for the stars and stripes should the tie feature a live fifth rubber.
How well do the ?? USA #FedCup team know each other?? ? pic.twitter.com/VgEpgCiD3F
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) April 21, 2017
R1: CoCo Vandeweghe (USA) v Marketa Vondrusova (CZE)
R2: Shelby Rogers (USA) v Katerina Siniakova (CZE)
R3: CoCo Vandeweghe (USA) v Katerina Siniakova (CZE)
R4: Shelby Rogers (USA) v Marketa Vondrusova (CZE)
R5: Lauren Davis and Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) v Denisa Allertova and Kristyna Pliskova (CZE)
In the World Group Play-offs, Angelique Kerber returns to Fed Cup after missing February’s tie against the United States to lead Germany against Ukraine in what could be the most evenly-poised tie of the weekend. Kerber and Julia Goerges have been tabbed in singles against Elina Svitolina and Lesia Tsurenko in Stuttgart in a tie that could come down to the deciding doubles rubber of Laura Siegemund and Carina Witthoeft against Olga Savchuk and Nadiia Kichenok.
Elsewhere, France hosts Spain as Kristina Mladenovic takes her place as France’s No.1 in her top 20 season, while Russia fields three WTA title-winners (Elena Vesnina, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Daria Kasatkina) at home against Belgium. Wrapping up the World Group Play-offs, Slovakia and the Netherlands will meet for the second straight year, as the Slovaks will rely on the youth of Jana Cepelova and Rebecca Sramkova in singles play.
Eight countries will also compete in the World Group II Play-offs, as Sara Errani leads a young Italian team against Chinese Taipei; Australia travels to Serbia; Simona Halep and Romania hosts Johanna Konta and Great Britain in an anticipated tie; and Yulia Putintseva and Yaroslava Shvedova look to lead Kazakhstan to uncharted territory for 2018 in Canada.
1. Angelique Kerber flipped a switch: The Australian Open champion leaves Australia with a 12-1 record to start the season, with her sole loss coming in the Brisbane International final to Victoria Azarenka. Just a few weeks later she defiantly avenged that lost, knocking Azarenka out of Melbourne in straight sets, and then topped the other tournament favorite, top seed Serena Williams, in three sets to win her first major title.
But even before Kerber got her hands on the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy, there were signs early in January that this was a different Kerber. A change in strings in the off-season gave her more pop on her strokes – particularly her serve – which she used effectively against Serena. She was also noticeably fitter, after a grueling off-season with her new trainer. And it was impossible to ignore how much more open Kerber was when discussing herself. Prior to Brisbane, she told the WTA her New Year’s Resolution was to get on Instagram, in hopes of giving fans more insight into her life on tour.
That mindset of opening up and putting herself out there has seeped into her press conferences, interviews, and on court. Kerber’s 2016 mantra has been to go out there and win matches, not wait for her opponent to give it to her. So far, so good.
2. Serena Williams remains the one to beat: Despite her loss in the Australian Open final, Serena exceeded my expectations with respect to her level at the start of the season. There were worries after her Hopman Cup withdrawal due to knee inflammation, but through six rounds in Melbourne absolutely no one was playing as well as Serena. That’s a very encouraging sign for her 2016 season.
As she chases Slam No. 22, it’s also worth noting just how much external and internal pressure she’s trying to handle. When Serena got to Slam No. 17 at the 2013 US Open it took her four more majors until she captured the Evert and Navratilova-tying No. 18 a year later. Prior to that she lost to Ana Ivanovic in Melbourne, Garbiñe Muguruza in Paris, and Alizé Cornet at Wimbledon.
3. Agnieszka Radwanska shows no signs of slowing down: No one beats Serena on a day she hits 18 winners to just 4 unforced errors in a 20 minute set. Radwanska conceded as much after her 6-0, 6-4 loss in the Australian Open semifinals. But the WTA Finals winner remains the winningest player on tour since the US Open last year — 26 wins, four titles — and leaves Australia with just one loss on the season.
4. Victoria Azarenka remains on the rise: After the first week in Melbourne, it seemed like everyone was ready to hit the fast forward button to the presumed final between Serena and Vika. The big record scratch late in the second week came at the hands of Kerber. The straight set loss to a player she had never lost to (6-0 vs. Kerber) was a disappointment, no doubt.
“I’m going to be disappointed today,” Azarenka said after the loss. “I’m going to be pissed off. I’m going to let myself have that.
“But overall it’s not going to affect me in any way because I know the work that I put through, it’s paying off. I just need to do more. I need to keep going to be even more consistent. I’ve shown good signs. I’ve shown good quality, way more consistent, physically much better. I need to assess a little bit what I can improve and keep moving direction forward.”
That was the pitch-perfect response from Azarenka in a difficult moment. She leaves Australia disappointed. But she also leaves incredibly hungry and encouraged. Watch out.
5. Injuries are just the worst: There’s no way of ignoring the injury plague that affected so many players in January. On one hand, some of the Chicken Little reactions to early season withdrawals were completely overblown. Serena, Kerber, Radwanska, and Maria Sharapova showed few signs of being hampered by injuries that forced them out of pre-Australian Open tournaments.
On the other hand, three key players – Simona Halep (achilles), Garbiñe Muguruza (foot), and Madison Keys (adductor) – remain hampered by long-standing, chronic frailties. These are not the kinds of injuries that just need a two week break to heal. How they manage their training and schedules going forward will be of much interest.
6. There will be more Grand Slam talk in 2016: Serena dominated the conversation in 2015 as she chased both the “Serena Slam” and the calendar Grand Slam through New York. But 2016 belongs to Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis.
With their third straight major title, “SanTina” can complete the non-Calendar Slam in May at the French Open. Clay remains their worst surface, but with the way they’ve dominated the tour over the last 12 months, that’s a lot like saying clay is Roger Federer’s worst surface. They’re still very good on it. If SanTina can snag the title at Roland Garros, the Grand Slam is well within their reach.
7. New faces to watch: The first week of the Australian Open belonged to the fresh new faces who went seed-hunting and notched milestone Slam results en masse. There were the trio of Russian youngsters – Margarita Gasparyan, Elizaveta Kulichkova, and Daria Kasatkina – all of whom made the third round or better in their Australian Open debuts and now have rankings that will get them into the main draw at more tour-level tournaments.
They may not hold Russian passports anymore, but Daria Gavrilova and Yulia Putintseva also had tournaments to remember, with the former knocking out Petra Kvitova to make the fourth round and the latter stunning Caroline Wozniacki to make the third round.
Finally, no discussion of January would be complete without Johanna Konta and Zhang Shuai. Konta is now up to No.28 in the rankings thanks to her run to the Australian Open semifinals and it will be interesting to see how she handles the increased spotlight and pressure that comes with being the No.1 Brit. The same goes for Zhang, who now finds herself in the surprising position of going from the brink of retirement to being the No.1 out of China at No.65.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Simona Halep will put her 10-match winning streak on the line at the Western & Southern Open on Wednesday. Chris Oddo previews a jam-packed schedule for wtatennis.com.
Wednesday, First and Second Round
Center Court
[3] Simona Halep (ROU #4) vs. Annika Beck (GER #33)
Head-to-head: Halep leads, 3-1
Key Stat: Halep has won her last 10 matches, claiming titles in Bucharest and Montréal.
Can last year’s Western & Southern Open runner-up take it a step further in 2016? That’s the question Simona Halep hopes to answer with a resounding yes this week in Cincinnati, and the Romanian will open her bid for the title with a second-round tilt with Germany’s Annika Beck on Wednesday. Halep will be well-rested after passing on the Olympics due to the threat of Zika virus. It was a difficult decision for the Romanian but one that she hopes will help spur her to great heights this summer. “I was very disappointed that I had to decide not to go there, but it was much better for my health,” Halep said on Monday when she spoke with the media at All-Access Hour. Out of action since the Montréal final more than two weeks ago, Halep will have to get up to speed quickly when she faces the 22-year-old Beck. The German won two qualifying matches to get into the main draw and impressively took down Yulia Putintseva in first-round action on Tuesday.
Pick: Halep in three
Grandstand
[10] Johanna Konta (GBR #13) vs. [Q] Donna Vekic (CRO #121)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Vekic ended a nine-match losing streak at WTA events on Monday when she defeated Ana Ivanovic.
Great Britain’s Johanna Konta will continue her pursuit of a Top 10 ranking when she makes her Cincinnati debut on Wednesday against 20-year-old Donna Vekic of Croatia. Konta has been in fine form this summer, winning 10 of 12 on the hard courts and claiming her first career title at Stanford last month. The British No.1 was one match from becoming the first woman from her country to reach the Top 10 in over 30 years in Montréal but fell to Kristina Kucova in the quarterfinals. On Wednesday Konta will face qualifier Donna Vekic for the first time. The former World No.62 has struggled mightily this season, but showed signs of life when she won her first WTA-level match in six months on Monday, stunning Ana Ivanovic in the first round. Will lightning strike twice for the talented Vekic, or will it be the cool, composed Konta who claims her first career victory in the Queen City?
Pick: Konta in two
Court 6
[13] Belinda Bencic (SUI #27) vs. [Q] Timea Babos (HUN #41)
Head-to-head: Bencic leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Babos is playing just two spots off her career-high ranking this week.
Injuries have marred what promised to be an incredible year for 19-year-old Belinda Bencic, as she was forced to miss several months due to a back problem and then had to play injured during the grass-court season before finally pulling the plug at Wimbledon with a wrist injury. But Bencic hopes to put her frailties behind her as she returns to action in Cincinnati looking to build some momentum ahead of the US Open. It won’t be easy on Wednesday as the Swiss will have to face one of the WTA’s most improved players in Hungary’s Timea Babos. The 23-year-old is closing in on the 30-win mark this season and reached the Florianopolis final two weeks ago before falling to Irina-Camelia Begu. Though she dropped her only previous meeting with Bencic in straight sets at Australia this year, Babos will benefit from the fact that she’s already logged three matches here in Cincinnati. She won two qualifying matches before easing past American Louisa Chirico in straight sets on Tuesday.
Pick: Bencic in three
Around the grounds…
Several unfinished matches from a rain-plagued Tuesday at the Lindner Family Tennis Center will be played today. Fourth-seeded Garbiñe Muguruza will take on CoCo Vandeweghe, while seventeenth-seeded Elina Svitolina meets qualifier Daria Gavrilova. American qualifier Alison Riske notched her first main draw win at Cincinnati on Tuesday and will meet up with seventh-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova in second-round action today. The No.2 and No.5 seeds, Angelique Kerber and Agnieszka Radwanska, will also be in action on an extremely busy schedule.
World No.1 Angelique Kerber led Germany to a 2-0 lead at the Porsche Arena – catch up with all the World Group Play-off action from Saturday’s Fed Cup play.
KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier
Prize Money: $687,900
Draw Size: 28 main draw (4 byes)/32 qualifying
Qualifying Dates: Saturday, February 6 – Monday, February 8
First Day of Main Draw: Monday, February 8
Singles Final: Sunday, February 14, 4.30pm MSK
Doubles Final: Sunday, February 14, 2pm MSK
MUST FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@Formula_TX – official tournament handle
Get involved in conversations with the official hashtags, #ladiestrophy and #WTA.
TOURNAMENT NOTES:
· Inaugural staging of event, with four Top 20 players – Belinda Bencic, Roberta Vinci, Ana Ivanovic, Caroline Wozniacki – scheduled to compete.
· Wozniacki, the recipient of the tournament’s Top 20 wildcard, won Russia’s other WTA event, the Kremlin Cup, in 2012.
· Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza, fresh from winning their third straight Grand Slam, at the Australian Open, head the doubles draw looking to extend their 36-match winning streak.
· An ITF event was held in St. Petersburg from 2003-2008 and once more in 2015, with Jelena Ostapenko triumphing at the most recent edition.
· For the complete draw click here.
WILDCARDS:
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN), Elena Vesnina (RUS), Natalia Vikhlyantseva (RUS)
WITHDRAWALS:
Irina-Camelia Begu (right knee), Mona Barthel (illness), Karin Knapp (right knee), Petra Cetkovska (illness), Alexandra Dulgheru (left knee)