Charleston: Elena Vesnina Pre-Tournament Interview
Hear what Elena Vesnina has to say before the beginning of the tournament.
Hear what Elena Vesnina has to say before the beginning of the tournament.
DOHA, Qatar – World No.6 and two-time Doha champion Maria Sharapova announced her withdrawal from the Qatar Total Open due to the left forearm injury she has struggled with since the beginning of the season,
“Unfortunately, I will not be able to play the Qatar Total Open because of my left forearm injury,” Sharapova said in a statement. “I would like to wish the tournament and all the great fans in Doha a great week of tennis and I hope to see them next year.”
The Russian was forced to pull out of the Brisbane International back in January due to this same injury, but appeared to rebound in Melbourne, reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open before falling to World No.1, Serena Williams.
“I’m going to go and take care of my forearm first,” Sharapova said after the loss, aware of the importance this season – being an Olympic year – presents. “I think that’s really important. I think this will be a time to just get myself ready for a long year.
“I don’t see myself playing anything before Indian Wells.”
Shelby Rogers is the talk of the town as she returns to her home, Charleston – catch up with all the social media buzz.
Sisters and doubles partners Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan are Taiwan’s highest ranked team. They’re No.5 on the Road To Singapore.
Hsieh Su-Wei, Taiwan’s No.1 singles player – was also in attendance.
No.1 seed Venus Williams made her highly anticipated Taiwan Open debut on Wednesday.
The Taiwan Open welcome dinner featured live entertainment…
…as well as a Chinese calligraphy lesson from a local artist.
He showed players how to use a traditional Chinese calligraphy brush.
The players wrote messages to the people of Taiwan who were affected by an earthquake before the start of the tournament.
The messages – written in English and Chinese – expressed encouragement and solidarity.
The Chan sisters, Williams and Hsieh were invited to the stage to show off their creations.
Check out Alizé Cornet’s shot of the day against Donna Vekic at the Abierto BNP Seguros.
Highlights from second round action at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Mirjana Lucic-Baroni took down the hometown favorite Shelby Rogers in three sets to reach the semifinals at the Volvo Car Open.
35-year-old Lucic-Baroni – the oldest player left in the draw – first played in Charleston in 2001, the same year her opponent Rogers was a ball girl at this very tournament. The Croat had never been past the round of 16 on the green clay, but on Friday night she mounted a spirited comeback to oust Rogers from her home tournament, 6-7(7), 6-1, 6-1.
“It was beautiful in a way,” Lucic-Baroni said in her post-match press conference. “It was difficult playing against the crowd, because Shelby is from here. It’s normal. It’s always tough, but I felt they were very respectful. They were cheering for their home girl, and it’s totally normal.
“The wind was what was really difficult today. It was incredibly hard, and the fact that I came out yesterday and today playing some great tennis and winning in these conditions, it’s incredible, really, really good effort.
.@Shelby_Rogers_ saves set point and claims the first set 7-6(7)! #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/MNRXGG6ySb
— WTA (@WTA) 7 de abril de 2017
Just one point made the difference for Rogers as she took the rollercoaster opening set under blustery conditions – which Lucic-Baroni described as, “I would rather play with a live lion running around in normal conditions than play in today’s weather.”
The Charleston-native leveraged the vocal home support to inspire an early comeback as she found herself down a break with Lucic-Baroni serving for the set at 5-4. She dodged a Lucic-Baroni set point to take it to a tiebreaker, then denied the Croat another one as she edged through to take the opening set.
But the big-hitting Lucic-Baroni refused to fold, and reeled in the errors from her all-or-nothing game to shut out Rogers from the next two sets. She didn’t allow Rogers a single break opportunity as she broke the American five times in a row to snatch a dizzying ten games in a row before claiming the match – and her spot in the semifinals – in two hours and thirteen minutes.
Third Semifinal of 2017!
Lucic-Baroni downs Rogers 6-7(7), 6-1, 6-1 at @VolvoCarOpen! pic.twitter.com/Ir5ELxURsr
— WTA (@WTA) 7 de abril de 2017
“I was just trying to fight for every point,” Rogers reflected in her post-match press conference. “Like it was definitely back and forth. I thought we had a very good level. It was super entertaining; and bad luck, I wish I could have kept it up.
“But a lot of positives to take from that, and you know, moving forward into the clay season, this week’s been great for me, and so many good things to move forward and build on.”
Meanwhile, Lucic-Baroni had nothing but praise for her opponent, lauding her to the adoring Charleston crowd.
“You guys should be so proud of Shelby,” she said. “She’s such a wonderful girl, amazing tennis player with a super bright future and present as well. You should really be proud, she represents [Charleston] beautifully.”
Ana Ivanovic takes on Kateryna Kozlova in the quarterfinals at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
MONTERREY, Mexico – No.2 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova completed a Russian sweep of WTA titles this week, shocking top seed and World No.1 Angelique Kerber, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 to win her fourth Abierto GNP Seguros title.
I’m really overwhelmed and don’t think I realized that I just won my fourth Monterrey trophy,” she said in her post-victory press conference. “Some people just have four trophies in total, and I have four here! It’s very special and it’s a special place in my heart; it’s where I won my first title and since won three more.
“But a trophy is a trophy; I’m so happy to hold it.”
Gutsy way to save break point from @NastiaPav! ? #AbiertoGNPSeguros pic.twitter.com/wlR0CwvYc1
— WTA (@WTA) April 9, 2017
Following countrywoman Daria Kasatkina’s title run at the Volvo Car Open, Pavlyuchenkova got out to the early advantage in Sunday’s final, taking the only break of the first set on her third set point.
“Playing the final against the No.1 player in the world is already very special, because everyone wants to compete against the No.1. You don’t get so many chances to do it, so it was one opportunity for me today. Beating here feels amazing, but I’m just enjoying the moment right now.”
Kerber was looking for her first title of the season and aimed to turn the tables on the big-hitting Russian, winning a long third game to break serve and run away with the second set to level the match.
.@NastiaPav firing at the start of the second! #AbiertoGNPSeguros pic.twitter.com/ZT9R0oJaVq
— WTA (@WTA) April 9, 2017
“Honestly, I didn’t have much energy left in the tank during the second set. First, it was really hot today, and tough conditions. Angelique was making me play every single point, so I felt as though I’d already given a lot in the first set. The first three games in the second were really long and I felt, ‘That’s it. I don’t have anything left.’
“But it’s a final; I said I’d try my best and give everything I had. So I had to find something somewhere, what little energy I did have, and put that into the match. I’m so happy I managed to do that.”
Absolutely genius from @NastiaPav! ? #AbiertoGNPSeguros pic.twitter.com/CLLPwvkY9z
— WTA (@WTA) April 9, 2017
Pavlyuchenkova is in the midst of a career best start to her year, making quarterfinal finishes at the Australian Open and BNP Paribas Open since hiring new coach Simon Goffin.
With Goffin in her corner, she raced out to a 5-0 lead in the final set, ultimately serving out her ninth career title in just under two hours.
How did @NastiaPav reach this forehand?! ? #AbiertoGNPSeguros pic.twitter.com/lv6SvWQZyr
— WTA (@WTA) April 9, 2017
Despite – or perhaps because of – her ability to adapt to the conditions, the Monterrey press still ribbed the Russian over her description of the tough conditions, those in which she nonetheless hit 49 winners to 31 unforced errors – compared to 14 winners to just 10 unforced errors from Kerber.
“I like to complain! Let me complain,” she laughed. “I feel sorry for myself sometimes, like it’s so hot and so tough. Let me complain. But it’s not complaining that much because the conditions aren’t easy here in general. Coming from other tournaments, it feels different to play here.”
“Wow! Fourth one, huh?” -@NastiaPav #AbiertoGNPSeguros pic.twitter.com/eOLHmtxjbj
— WTA (@WTA) April 9, 2017
Thanks to their strong results in Monterrey, both women are set to make big leaps on the Road to Singapore leaderboard, with Kerber inching just outside the Top 8 at No.10, while Pavlyuchenkova is two spots behind at No.12.
“I’ll probably enjoy this win for a few more days, but in tennis, you’ve got another one in a couple of weeks. I’ll have Fed Cup, playing for my country. But I really hope to bring this form with me throughout the year, improve, and be fitter for the next tournaments.”
Special message from @Abierto_GNP champ @NastiaPav to her fans ? pic.twitter.com/06S3IbOeMO
— WTA (@WTA) April 9, 2017
In the doubles final, top seeds Alicja Rosolska and Nao Hibino recovered from a break down in the second set to defeat Dalila Jakupovic and Nadiia Kichenok, 6-2, 7-6(4).
“Our opponents really stepped up in the second set, played more solid and put a lot of pressure on us. We couldn’t play our game style as freely,” Rosolska said after the match.
“We had to be more focused from the first ball, so we tried putting in more first serves and be more aggressive so we wouldn’t be under as much pressure.
“There was a very important game at 2-4 where we won the deciding point and helped us win the second set.”
The pair previously paired up to win an ITF challenger title, but as the Pole noted, “It’s our WTA first!”
All photos courtesy of Abierto GNP Seguros.
An interview with Roberta Vinci after her finals win at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.