Roland Garros: Serena vs Putintseva
Serena Williams takes on Yulia Putinseva in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros.
Serena Williams takes on Yulia Putinseva in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros.
Elina Svitolina had Wednesday’s shot of the Day at the Taiwan Open.
NOTTINGHAM, Great Britain – Zheng Saisai had never beaten Johanna Konta in their two previous encounters, but turned around a losing head-to-head to stun the No.2 seed and hometown favorite, 6-4, 7-5, to advance into the quarterfinals of the Aegon Open Nottingham.
Konta last played Zheng in the second round of this year’s Australian Open, where she became the first British woman to reach a Grand Slam semifinal since 1983. Now ranked inside the Top 20 for the first time in decades, the Brit eased out to an early 2-0 lead, only to see her Chinese opposition walk away with six of the next eight games, breaking serve twice to take the opening set in 45 minutes.
The second set was an even more hotly contested affair, one in which Konta again lead by a break at 4-2, getting within six points of a decider. Zheng broke back, however, and served out a titanic final game that forced her to face three break points to earn her spot in the last eight in just over two hours.
Up next for Zheng is either Andrea Hlavackova or Ashleigh Barty, the young Aussie playing in her first WTA tournament since 2014.
More to come…
Top seed Elina Svitolina played Lucie Hradecka for a place in the Taiwan Open quarterfinals.
Two years after stunning World No.1 Serena Williams in the second round of the French Open, Garbiñe Muguruza enjoyed a full circle moment on the terre battue in 2016, defeating Williams once again to capture her maiden major title.
“I’m pretty shocked still,” the Spaniard said in her post-match press conference. “Pretty excited about what just happened. I think I’ve got to take my time and enjoy, because with tennis players it goes so fast.
“You have to right away think about another tournament. I want to enjoy.”
Muguruza was the first Spanish woman to reach the Roland Garros final since 2000 (Conchita Martinez); with her win over Williams, she became the first Spaniard to win a Grand Slam title since Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in 1998, and the first two rise into the Top 2 on the WTA rankings since December of 1996.
Racing out to a set and a break advantage, Muguruza had four championship points on Serena’s serve before ultimately serving out the victory one game later.
“It was very difficult to see you have four match points and doesn’t go your way. But it’s a final. There’s no room for being disappointed or for excuses.
“I still had another chance serving, and even after. I just tried to be calm even though inside, I was like, ‘Oh, there’s no way.’ I managed to be calm and just think about what I have to do every point, you know, and don’t think about match point or championship point.”
With her first Grand Slam title already under her belt, the 2015 Wimbledon finalist will certainly be one to watch as the tour turns to grass, and as May’s WTA Player Of The Month!
Final Results for May’s WTA Player Of The Month
1. Garbiñe Muguruza (70%)
2. Simona Halep (20%)
3. Serena Williams (10%)
2016 WTA Player of the Month Winners
January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
April: Angelique Kerber
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
Kristina Mladenovic takes on Roberta Vinci in the quarterfinals of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Venus Williams’ run at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy might have come to an abrupt end earlier in the week, but the former World No.1 still took time to take in the sights in the culture capital of Russia.
“This is a place I want to be, and have always wanted to visit because of the historic value, and because it’s a beautiful city,” Venus told press ahead of her participation in the tournament.
“I’m really interested in the local fashion and the designers here because I like to be inspired by different cultures. Those two things are on the top of my list.”
The Australian Open finalist took the opportunity to visit some of St. Petersburg most iconic cultural landmarks, like the Fabergé Museum and the famous Church On Spilled Blood:
After her excursion, Venus took some time with her many Russian fans in an absolutely mobbed autograph session:
– Photos courtesy of St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy
Elina Svitolina roared into the Top 8 of the Road to Singapore leaderboard thanks to her victory in the Taiwan Open.
Cruising to the title, the top seed beat Peng Shuai, 6-3 6-2 in Sunday’s final in Taipei City. The success moves her up from No.17 all the way up to No.8.
“I’m No.13 in the world,” she said after the final. “So you expect players higher in the rankings to be able to raise their level in tight situations. It happened today at a good moment.”
Should Svitolina maintain this current form, the youngster could find herself making her debut at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The Ukrainian barely missed out on a spot among the Greatest Eight last year, but made up for the disappointment by reaching the final in her first appearance at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
Over in Russia, Kristina Mladenovic’s stunning success in the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy has seen her rise 339 places to No.13 in the Road to Singapore.
The 23-year-old was awarded 470 ranking points for her thrilling 6-2 6-7(3) 6-3 win over Yulia Putintseva on Sunday, her first WTA title secured in her fourth final. Her defeated opponent moved into the Top 20 – up to 18th from 64th.
“The wait was definitely worth it,” said Mladenovic after her win. “To clinch my first WTA final here, especially at a Premier event, I feel really happy right now.”
Click here to check out the full Road to Singapore leaderboard.
Kristina Mladenovic talks about winning her maiden WTA title at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
BIRMINGHAM, Great Britain – Britain’s Heather Watson notched her first win in Birmingham in two years, downing Camila Giorgi 6-4, 7-5 to advance to the second round at the Aegon Classic Birmingham.
Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Watson played a neat and tidy game against the tricky Giorgi, striking 23 winners and seven unforced errors to the Italian’s 24 winners and 29 unforced errors.
The Brit found herself break points down in the second and fifth games of the second set, but rallied each time to come up with a way to stay in it.
“Today, the opponent I played is a real tricky one,” Watson said. “She doesn’t give you any rhythm. She’ll hit a lot of winners, but she’ll make some mistakes as well. So it’s tough.
“I was just really pleased with how positive I was, especially in the second set when I was breakpoints down. I thought those games in the end turned out to be very crucial.”
Her first-round win here overturns a spell of disappointing results at the Aegon Classic Birmingham – she’s bowed out in the first round in her last two appearances.
“I just love it here in Birmingham,” the Brit told the crowd after her match. “I haven’t had the results I’ve wanted here in the past, but I was really motivated this year to do well here because I really do enjoy it.
“I have family who live close by in Coventry, so I really feel like it’s a second home.”
Joining her in the second round is Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko. The 18-year-old defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-6(2) 6-1 earlier in the day.
Watson and Giorgi’s match just barely missed the rain that had been threatening to come down all afternoon, leaving the clashes between Daria Gavrilova versus Naomi Broady and Carla Suárez Navarro versus Elina Svitolina postponed until tomorrow.