Tennis News

– Day 2 Results: Christina McHale pulled off the most notable upset of the day, beating No.41 Caroline Garcia ,6-4, 6-4, to advance to the second round. Meanwhile, three wildcards made good on their opportunities, as Lauren Davis beat Nao Hibino, 6-2, 6-4, Zhang Shuai beat Pauline Parmentier via retirement, and Shelby Rogers gutted out a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 win over Mariana Duque Mariño.

– More winners: Daria Kasatkina (d. Hantuchova), Monica Puig (d. Lucic-Baroni), Eugenie Bouchard (d. Ozaki), Tsvetana Pironkova (d. Vekic), Camila Giorgi (d. Goerges), Magdalena Rybarikova (d. Robson), Margarita Gasparyan (d. Govortsova), Zarina Diyas (d. Loeb), Yanina Wickmayer (d. Hercog), Madison Brengle (d. Doi), Denisa Allertova (d. Cetkovska).

– Laura Robson ready to move on: Robson lost to Rybarikova in the first round but there were encouraging signs in the loss. The former British No.1 says she’s been pain-free since January, the longest pain-free stint of her two-year battle with a left wrist injury that required surgery.

“It’s been the hardest thing for me to translate what I’ve been doing on the practice court to matches so I was pretty happy with that and everything else can definitely be worked on,” Robson said. “[Get back to] feeling confident enough in the rally to move up in the court, finish shots with volleys, drive volleys, getting that variation in my game. Obviously the forehand was a bit messy, but it’s all stuff that can be improved. That’s the good thing about it. As long as I’m healthy I can train as much as possible and get as much work in.”

Ranked No.551, Robson used her protected ranking to get into the main draw in Indian Wells and will use the rest of her protected ranking allotments through the first week of the grass season.

“My protected runs out in Eastbourne so I’d kind of be an idiot not to use them all before then,” Robson said. “As much as I’d like to get more matches in at the qualifying level it would be a waste not to use them. So I plan to play virtually all the clay season, Paris, and I think I’ll have one left for the first week on grass.”

A junior champion at Wimbledon at 14, the 22-year-old Brit rose to a career-high No.27 in 2013 before injuries began to take hold. Now she says she’s ready to embark on her “second career”.

“The best advice I was given was from Nick Saviano and he said I have to let the past go, in a way,” Robson said. “I can’t keep trying to have the exact same things in my game that I had before. It’s essentially a new career with a more experienced self. When I was playing at the 25 level and everything before I didn’t have years of experience behind me. So I’m lucky to get this second chance but I can’t keep thinking, ‘Oh but I used to be able to hit my forehand like this.’ That’s just not healthy.”

– Belinda Bencic turns 19: How about this photo:

Z okazji 19. urodzin @BelindaBencic udajemy się z nią w podróż w przeszłość. Zapraszamy: https://t.co/Y2WuOdZXGc pic.twitter.com/D80uZhGPPV

— Tenisklub.pl (@TenisklubPL) March 10, 2016

– Eugenie Bouchard’s emotional win: Bouchard had a tough turnaround, flying from Kuala Lumpur after the final on Sunday to land in Los Angeles at 11am on Monday. With photoshoot and sponsor obligations to fulfill, it’s been sleepless leadup for her with minimal practice. But she battled past Japanese qualifier Risa Ozaki to win, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, and set up a second round meeting with Sloane Stephens.

“I definitely felt out of sorts on the court,” Bouchard said. “At times I felt like my tennis was awful out there. But I just tried to put that aside and keep trying to play, keep trying to play, and slowly things kind of turned around. I just tried stay in there, really.”

“I felt more emotional than usual. I felt a bit weird and off on the court. It’s one of those days. It was a difficult turnaround and a rough couple of days.”

– Readying for Venus’ return: Venus Williams returns to the BNP Paribas Open for the first time in 15 years on Friday. ESPN rounds up a variety of reactions to her decision to come back to Indian Wells.

– Steffi Graf backs Serena: Graf told AFP she’s fully prepared for Serena to break her record of 22 major titles.

“I follow it somewhat but this is somebody else’s chance and I’m happy for them. It doesn’t take anything away from what I have achieved. I’m completely at ease.”

– All hail Sania Mirza: The doubles No.1 gets the cover of Indian magazine Just For Women.

Celebrating the Queen of aces, the unbeatable @MirzaSania this March on our cover! #prideofindia #womenPower pic.twitter.com/oPd6wAQ8Ot

— JFW Magazine (@jfwmagofficial) March 9, 2016

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – No.18 seed Karolina Pliskova needed less than an hour to take her place in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open, producing a dominant display to swat aside former champion Ana Ivanovic.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Indian Wells right here on wtatennis.com!

After an even start, Pliskova’s game clicked into gear in spectacular fashion, a sequence of 10 uninterrupted games helping her to a 6-2, 6-0 victory.

Ivanovic, who lifted the Indian Wells title eight years ago, came into the contest nursing a knee injury that hampered her movement throughout. A string of uncharacteristic errors saw her broken to love in the opening game and while she drew level soon after, it was clear that her game lacked its usual zip.

Pliskova, on the other hand, was having no difficulty getting the ball through the court, forging ahead and wrapping up the set with a fierce backhand drive. The winners continued to flow in the second, the Czech eventually finishing with 18 as she romped to the finishing line.

Pliskova had won all three of her previous encounters with Ivanovic, including earlier this year in Sydney. “We’ve played a few times already and I’ve always won. But I think I played really good tennis today and I’m happy that I made [the next round] so fast,” Pliskova said.

The one-sided scoreline was all the more surprising given the players’ respective form heading into the tournament; Ivanovic had made the semi and quarterfinals in St. Petersburg and Dubai, while Pliskova had suffered a couple of early exits in the Middle East.

“Last year I didn’t lose any first rounds. Now I’d lost twice in a row so I’m just happy to have some matches and looking forward to the next one,” Pliskova added.

That next outing will come against Johanna Konta, a 6-4, 6-1 winner over No.2 seed Angelique Kerber’s conqueror, Denisa Allertova.

Also emerging triumphant from Monday’s afternoon session were Roberta Vinci and Magdalena Rybarikova. Vinci continued her fine start to the year by outclassing Elina Svitolina, 6-1, 6-3, while Rybarikova caused the tournament’s latest shock, dumping out No.7 seed Belinda Bencic, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Top seed Serena Williams endured a few frustrating moments against a resurgent Kateryna Bondarenko, easing past the qualifier, 6-2, 6-2 at the BNP Paribas Open.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Indian Wells right here on wtatennis.com!

Bondarenko came back to tennis just over 18 months ago after giving birth to a daughter, but has been playing some of the best tennis of either of her two careers in 2016, reaching the Australian Open third round as she slowly creeps back to her former career-high of No.29.

“It definitely wasn’t an easy match,” Williams told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “She’s obviously been a good player in the past, and she knows how to play on big courts against big players. So, it was a good match for me.”

In complete control through the first six games, the American lost serve a game from the opening set, and battled through windy conditions and some evident angst through the 72 minute match. In the end, she hit 26 impressive winners to only 22 errors, while Bondarenko hit 13 winners to 21 unforced.

“Regardless of whether it’s windy, not windy, and you just have to be able to adjust. I always think things can be worse!”

Up next for the 21-time Grand Slam champion is No.5 seed and defending BNP Paribas Open champion Simona Halep; Williams triumphed in both of their 2015 encounters – including a tight two-set win in the finals of the Western & Southern Open.

Back at Indian Wells for only the second time since 2001, Williams said she’s feeling the love from fans in the California desert, and hopes to be the crowd favorite come the quarterfinals.

“I want to scream back that I love you too – I’m not sure if that’s appropriate – but I do; I love you guys, and thanks for your support.”