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Radwanska In, Bouchard Out In Shenzhen

Radwanska In, Bouchard Out In Shenzhen

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

SHENZHEN, China – The two remaining seeds in the draw – Agnieszka Radwanska and Eugenie Bouchard – had mixed fortunes on Quarterfinals Day at the $500,000 Shenzhen Open on Thursday.

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The No.6-seeded Bouchard was the first to take center court and succumbed to an on-fire Timea Babos, who broke once per set and fended off all five break points she faced to prevail, 6-4, 6-4.

Bouchard, who had only played one match since the US Open due to a concussion, was playing her first WTA quarterfinal since last year’s Australian Open – Babos was just too sharp on the day, though.

“Genie’s a great player, and she definitely has more confidence and is playing a lot better than the couple months before, so I’m happy I was solid and managed the tough situations well,” Babos said.

And what about the big serving in those tough situations? “In general, in my game, I have one of the biggest serves on the tour, so it’s a huge advantage for me, definitely. Genie is an aggressive player and takes the return very early – she has great returns – so I had to put a lot of first serves in.

“Thankfully in the big moments I came up with good serves and aces, so it worked out well.”

The No.1-seeded Radwanska took the court straight afterwards and needed just 63 minutes to beat Wang Qiang, 6-3, 6-2, holding all nine of her service games – she saved both break points she faced.

Radwanska has now won 20 of her last 24 matches – including eight in a row on Chinese soil.

“We actually played each other in Tianjin, and I think she played a much better match this time, but I really pushed myself to play my best tennis today,” Radwanska said. “It was a good match for me.”

Up next for the World No.5 is Anna-Lena Friedsam, who won a see-saw battle against Katerina Siniakova in the late match, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1. Radwanska beat Friedsam in the pair’s only meeting.

Babos’ semifinal opponent will be Alison Riske, who rallied past Anett Kontaveit, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

Babos has beaten Riske in both previous meetings, including in Tianjin just a few months ago.

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Radwanska To Pass Sharapova For No.4

Radwanska To Pass Sharapova For No.4

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

SHENZHEN, China – Agnieszka Radwanska kept her fantastic last few months going Friday, beating Anna-Lena Friedsam for a spot in the Shenzhen Open final – and in the Top 4 on the WTA Rankings.

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After jumping out to a 6-2, 2-0 lead, the No.1-seeded Radwanska faced some resistance from Friedsam, the unseeded German breaking back to even the second set, 2-2. But Radwanska got right back on the horse, breaking one last time for 3-2 then holding the rest of the way to win, 6-2, 6-4.

“I’ve been feeling good from the beginning of the year,” Radwanska said. “I’ve been playing some good tennis, especially here in Shenzhen this week, and now I have one more match to go to win here.”

Radwanska has now won 21 of her last 25 matches, a stretch that started right after the US Open and has brought her titles at Tokyo [Pan Pacific], Tianjin and the WTA Finals, and now a final here.

Radwanska is now into the 25th WTA final of her career – she’s 17-7 in her first 24 WTA finals.

And by reaching this final, Radwanska is projected to pass Maria Sharapova on the WTA Rankings come Monday, going from No.5 to No.4 – a move that has major, major implications, as it’s Monday’s WTA Rankings that will determine the seeds for the Australian Open, and a Top 4 seed is massive.

“Reaching the final here is great preparation for the Australian Open, and that’s a good projection too,” Radwanska, a former World No.2, said after being told of the ranking news. “First I’ll focus on winning here in Shenzhen, and then I’ll just try to play the same tennis in Sydney and in Melbourne.”

But back to Shenzhen, and waiting for Radwanska in the final will be Alison Riske, who won an all-unseeded semifinal against Timea Babos earlier in the day by the exact same scoreline, 6-2, 6-4.

“It was definitely a tough match for me,” Riske said. “Babos is a great competitor and a great player, so I had to be there on every point, and I’m excited that the match came out in my favor in the end.

“I’m also excited to be in the final – it’s a great start to a season to reach a final.”

Radwanska beat Riske in their only previous meeting, in her opening match at Indian Wells last year.

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