Tennis News

Tuesday

Quarterfinals

[2] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #3) vs. [26] Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO #29)
Head-to-head: Tied, 3-3
Key Stat: Pliskova and Lucic-Baroni have played three-setters in each of their last three meetings.

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni has already matched her total of Top 10 wins from the previous four seasons by notching three in 2017 and, on Sunday, the 35-year-old will try to make it four when she meets No.2 seed Karolina Pliskova in her first Miami Open quarterfinal.

Pliskova, who is in the Miami quarterfinals for the second time, knows it will be a challenge. She was knocked off by Lucic-Baroni in January, falling 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to the Croatian in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, and their last three battles have all gone the distance.

“She’s always tough,” Pliskova told WTA Insider on Monday after easing past Barbora Strycova in straight sets. “She has a big game and it was close in Australia.”

The head-to-head points to a toss-up but Pliskova comes in as the favorite based on her ranking and the expectations she has set by becoming one of the most lethal players in the last 52 weeks. Now the No.1 Czech, Pliskova is expected to come through these types of matches and she certainly has the game to do it. But how can she keep her veteran opponent off balance so that her blistering groundstrokes don’t take over the match? It’s a task that has proved difficult for many this season and it will be interesting to see how Pliskova approaches playing Lucic-Baroni from a tactical perspective.

Lucic-Baroni, meanwhile, will approach the challenge of facing Pliskova’s game with no fear. She’s playing some of the best tennis of her life – why shouldn’t the fairytale continue?

“It’s always nice when you beat a top player and then beat them again not too long after, so it’s not a ‘fluke,'” Lucic-Baroni said last week in Miami after defeating No.5-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska for the second time this season. “I know people like to say stupid things sometimes. But I don’t pay attention to that. I know I can play some great tennis and that’s really all I care about doing.”

Pick: Pliskova in three

First #WTA Premier Mandatory Quarterfinal!

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni downs Mattek-Sands at @MiamiOpen! pic.twitter.com/h4SjEMPJj3

— WTA (@WTA) March 27, 2017

[12] Caroline Wozniacki (DEN #14) vs. Lucie Safarova (CZE #36)
Head-to-head: Wozniacki leads, 4-3
Key Stat: Wozniacki’s 21 victories in 2017 place her second on tour.

Caroline Wozniacki is back in the last eight of the Miami Open for the fifth time overall and the first time since 2014, and the Dane faces a former Top 10 player on the rise in Lucie Safarova. The Czech secured her first Top 10 win since 2015 when she defeated World No.4 Dominika Cibulkova on Monday in straight sets. If that doesn’t give you an idea of what type of form the 30-year-old Czech is in, consider this: Safarova’s 16 wins in the first three months of the season are already more than she had in all of 2016. She has yet to drop a set this week and has reached the Miami Open quarterfinals for the first time on her 12th career appearance.

Can the southpaw take it a step further and shut down Wozniacki on Tuesday? It will be a difficult task. Wozniacki has won three of her last four against Safarova and is running hot as she prepares to play her sixth quarterfinal of the season. The match will likely hinge on how well Wozniacki can implement her return tactics against Safarova’s serve. The Czech entered the tournament ranked fourth in percentage of service games won this season, while Wozniacki ranked No.6 in percentage of return games won.

Pick: Wozniacki in three

By the Numbers
4 – Number of wins that Lucic-Baroni notched at Miami from 1998 to 2016. She will try to win her fourth match of the 2017 tournament against Pliskova.
22 – Pliskova took over the WTA lead in wins for 2017 with her 22nd win on Monday.
9 – Number of times that Caroline Wozniacki has reached at least the quarterfinal in her last ten tournaments.
16 – Lucie Safarova’s 16 wins (16-6) in 2017 have already surpassed her win total for all of 2016 (15-18).

MADRID, Spain – All of the world’s best players have been confirmed to attend the 16th Mutua Madrid Open, which starts on May 6.

With the exception of the injured Petra Kvitova, the field is as strong as it possibly could be according to the WTA rankings – with the returning Maria Sharapova also granted a wildcard along with four other players, to be announced.

To complete the 64-player main draw for the Mutua Madrid Open, eight players will come through the qualifying stages.

Fifth seeded Simona Halep is the reigning champion in a recent roll of honour that has seen Serena Williams triumph twice (2012, 2013) and Sharapova in 2014. The tournament will mark Williams’ return to action, the former champion having struggled with a knee injury since winning the Australian Open.

The @WTA Stars ⭐️ are coming back to Madrid! ☺️. Complete list of players: https://t.co/npBfnToFP5 ?? pic.twitter.com/mYiZUTRz4x

— Mutua Madrid Open (@MutuaMadridOpen) March 28, 2017

Kvitova is also a two-time winner of the event and tournament director Manolo Santana used the announcement as an opportunity to dedicate a few words to the absent champion.

“I would like to send my best wishes and affection to Petra Kvitova, who is unable to play this year for reasons I am sure you are all aware of,” he said. “I have special admiration for Petra’s capacity to overcome adversity and I would love to see her back here fighting for her third title next year.”

The players registered for the Mutua Madrid Open are:

1. Angelique Kerber
2. Serena Williams
3. Karolina Pliskova
4. Dominika Cibulkova
5. Simona Halep
6. Garbiñe Muguruza
7. Svetlana Kuznetsova
8. Agnieszka Radwanska
9. Madison Keys
10. Elina Svitolina
11. Johanna Konta
12. Venus Williams
13. Elena Vesnina
14. Caroline Wozniacki
15. Timea Bacsinszky
16. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
17. Kristina Mladenovic
18. Samantha Stosur
19. Barbora Strycova
20. Kiki Bertens
21. Coco Vandeweghe
22. Caroline Garcia
23. Carla Suárez Navarro
24. Anastasija Sevastova
25. Daria Gavrilova
26. Timea Babos
27. Irina-Camelia Begu
28. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni
29. Roberta Vinci
30. Ana Konjuh
31. Yulia Putintseva
32. Zhang Shuai
33. Lauren Davis
34. Ekaterina Makarova
35. Lucie Safarova
36. Katerina Siniakova
37. Alison Riske
38. Laura Siegemund
39. Monica Puig
40. Lesia Tsurenko
41. Daria Kasatkina
42. Peng Shuai
43. Alizé Cornet
44. Monica Niculescu
45. Christina McHale
46. Julia Goerges
47. Naomi Osaka
48. Yaroslava Shvedova
49. Misaki Doi
50. Kristyna Pliskova
51. Viktorija Golubic

ACAPULCO, Mexico – Playing her first WTA match since her incredible Australia campaign, Victoria Azarenka shook off the rust and withstood a tough challenge from Polona Hercog, coming back from a set down to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the first round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.

“I don’t really come with too many expectations to any tournament, and this is not an exception,” Azarenka told press after the match. “I’m here trying to work on my game.

“My first match, it was a little bit uncomfortable at first. But I need to do that in matches to improve my game.”

Azarenka, who was making her Acapulco main draw debut, was up against the World No.82 Hercog, who was a finalist here in 2010. She struggled in the first set and showed signs of frustration – Azarenka was broken three times and her powerful groundstrokes were misfiring, racking up unforced errors. The Belarusian got one break back and fought off a set point, but gave up the first set 6-4.

Dropping the opening set seemed to be just the motivation that Azarenka needed, though, and once her game clicked, there was no looking back. She broke Hercog for 4-2 and went on to grab the next two of three games, winning the set 6-3. Azarenka was nearly unstoppable in the third – after Hercog held serve to get on board, Azarenka won the next six games to close out the match in commanding fashion, 6-1.

“I had way too many unforced errors in the beginning, but it wasn’t really a big deal,” Azarenka said of her adjustments in the second half of the match. “Just little mistakes there and there – I just cleaned it up.

“I just tried to stay a little bit more consistent and really take my opportunities better and execute my game better. “

Though she survived the tough encounter, Azarenka won’t be getting a break in the next match. Awaiting her in the second round is the on fire Dominika Cibulkova, who dominated her clash with Lourdes Dominguez Lino, winning 6-0, 6-0.

“It went pretty well,” the always-understated Cibulkova commented after the 52-minute match. “I was really strong mentally today and that’s why I won.

“I wouldn’t say I was playing really, really good. I was playing OK, I played the way I needed to play.”

She didn’t face a single break point in the straight sets romp, and didn’t let the blustery conditions affect her. What helped her stay focused?

“I am an experienced player so I know how to not get crazy about the heat, the sun and the shades,” she said, referring to the tough conditions on the grandstand court. “If I’m thinking about everything else but not the game, it would be much more tough.”

Also though to the second round is Shelby Rogers – last week’s Acapulco finalist – who survived a tough opening set to defeat Anna Tatishvili 7-6(6), 6-0. Christina McHale downed Heather Watson 4-6, 6-0, 7-6(1) to advance. No.7 seed Danka Kovinic, qualifier Julia Glushko and Olga Govortosova are through as well.