Doha: Anastasija Sevastova's Shot Of The Day
Anastasija Sevastova had Monday’s shot of the day at the Qatar Total Open.
Anastasija Sevastova had Monday’s shot of the day at the Qatar Total Open.
An interview with Karolina Pliskova before her opening round match at the Qatar Total Open.
WTA World No.3 Karolina Pliskova is looking forward to getting her Qatar Total Open challenge underway against Caroline Garcia on Wednesday despite the ever constant threat of rain looming large over the tournament.
Persistent showers wiped out almost the entire day of first round action on Tuesday and the tournament now has a backlog of matches to make up with Pliskova scheduled last on centre court on Wednesday.
With her match being pushed back, Pliskova admits it will be to her advantage to have more rest and preparation time than her first round opponent, who now has to play twice in a day having beaten Madison Brengle.
“I just had my practices today, which was important for me,” said Pliskova on Tuesday. “I was trying to start early so I can hit on the court and get little bit used to it because we were playing indoors. It was a little bit different. I think even if they don’t finish today, they still have to play this match tomorrow. So that would definitely be an advantage for me if they play two matches in a day.
“Obviously the weather can change so fast. In Czech is minus 10, so with me this weather is fine. Just the rain is not good for tennis, so hopefully it can get better and we can finish all the matches on time.”
Pliskova’s second-round opponent has decided not to take part in the Fed Cup this year, a tournament the Czech is passionate about. But for Pliskova, the decision is not one that bothers her.
“It’s tough always to decide if to play or not. We played this time, we played home, which was much easier for me, you know, to play. So we didn’t have to travel anywhere far. But still I came here pretty late.
“I don’t think it’s a bad idea that she didn’t play. Sometimes it can help you, but sometimes, like I said, it’s difficult to put it in the schedule because there’s a lot of tournaments. It’s not always easy in the week of Fed Cup. You can have lot of matches, tough matches. I think both decisions are fine. There is always something positive about it. But I think this week, what I’ve played has been good. I had two wins. But maybe it’s also good to prepare for the tournament like she did.”
Qualifier Lauren Davis’s run at the Qatar Total Open continued as she beat sixth seed Elena Vesnina in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals.
World No.1 Serena Williams has taken a wildcard into next week’s Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, a Premier 5 event.
The two-time defending champion has a 10-match win streak in Cincinnati and will be making her eighth appearance at the tournament where she holds a 21-4 match record. Serena enters the event looking to rebound from a disappointing early exit from the Olympics in Rio, where she lost in the third round to Elina Svitolina.
Having played only three matches since winning Wimbledon in July, Serena will look to return to form as she continues to prepare for the US Open, where she has a chance to break the Open Era record for Slam singles titles by winning her 23rd major.
Also on the line for Serena next week: The No.1 ranking.
Current World No.2 Angelique Kerber has a chance to end Serena’s 183-week reign at No.1 at Cincinnati, however, it will not be an easy task. Kerber, who is still in Rio de Janiero at the Olympic tennis event, would need to win the title at the Western & Southern Open in order to do so.
With Serena accepting the wildcard, she can extend her stay at No.1 through US Open if she makes the quarterfinals, regardless what Kerber does.
Kerber is trying to become the first German to reach No.1 since her idol Stefanie Graf and would be the third left-handed player to hold the No.1 ranking (along with Martina Navratilova and Monica Seles).
Main draw play at the Western & Southern Open begins on Monday, with the top 16 seeds receiving a bye into the second round. The draw ceremony will be held on Friday, August 12, at 5:30pm local time.
SHE'S BACK.
2-time defending champ @serenawilliams returns to #CincyTennis after receiving a WC into the main draw. pic.twitter.com/1rNIEvHaok
— W&S Open (@CincyTennis) August 11, 2016
Karolina Pliskova swatted aside Caroline Garcia 7-5, 6-4 to secure her place in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Total Open.
KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier 5
Prize Money: $2,804,000
Draw Size: 48 main draw (16 byes)/48 qualifying
Main Draw Ceremony: Friday, August 12, 5.30pm EDT
Qualifying Dates: Saturday, August 13 – Sunday, August 14
First Day of Main Draw: Monday, August 15
Singles Final: Sunday, August 21, 2pm EDT
Doubles Final: TBC – Sunday, August 21, 12.15pm EDT on Grandstand
MUST FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@CinyTennis – official tournament handle
Get involved in conversations with the official hashtags, #CincyTennis and #WTA.
TOURNAMENT NOTES:
· Serena Williams bids to win a third straight Cincinnati title after accepting a late wildcard. She is the only player in the Open Era to win multiple times at the event.
· Since the tournament’s return to the tour in 2004, there have been 11 different winners of the tournament, although Serena is the only returning champion in the field this year. There are a couple of former runner-ups – Simona Halep (2015), Ana Ivanovic (2014) and Angelique Kerber (2012).
· The WTA’s current Top 5-ranked players are all in attendance: Serena, Kerber, Halep, Garbiñe Muguruza and Agnieszka Radwanska.
· Halep arrives on a 10-match winning streak, having won her past two tournaments, in Bucharest and Montréal.
· Lucie Safarova and Andrea Petkovic could both register their 400th career win by reaching the second round and quarterfinals, respectively.
· For the full draw click here.
WILDCARDS:
Serena Williams (USA), Christina McHale (USA), Louisa Chirico (SVK)
WITHDRAWALS:
Sloane Stephens (right foot), Jelena Jankovic (right shoulder)
DOHA, Qatar – Caroline Wozniacki won her second match of the day in emphatic style, overcoming Olympic Gold medalist Monica Puig, 6-1, 6-2, to reach the final of the Qatar Total Open.
“It sounds amazing, but also makes me feel a little old!” she said during her on-court interview, when reminded of her last appearance in the Doha final, back in 2011.
“It’s been a great week, really tough conditions with all the waiting, but I managed to keep focus and play some of my best tennis out there.”
Too good from @CaroWozniacki! ? #Qatar_Total_Open pic.twitter.com/WLxzClmCjN
— WTA (@WTA) February 17, 2017
The former World No.1 was the last of field to advance into the semifinals after finishing off Lauren Davis, 7-5, 6-1, while Puig kicked off play on Friday by defeating Daria Kasatkina in a one-set shootout.
Still rolling from her win over Davis, Wozniacki started the quicker of the two despite the late start, roaring out to a 5-1 lead in the first set and never looking back, hitting 12 winners to just four unforced errors and converting five of seven break point opportunities to advance after an hour and 10 minutes.
What a rally! ?
Defense to offense from @CaroWozniacki! ?? #Qatar_Total_Open pic.twitter.com/bzVehSiT0L
— WTA (@WTA) February 17, 2017
Up next for the two-time US Open finalist is Karolina Pliskova, the No.2 seed and last year’s runner-up in Flushing. Wozniacki’s never lost to the Czech powerhouse, but their last meeting came in 2014, before Pliskova became a Top 10 player.
“She’s playing really well, serving really well. It’s going to be a great final and I’m excited for it.”
.@CaroWozniacki bests Puig 6-1, 6-2!
Sets @QatarTennis Final vs @KaPliskova! pic.twitter.com/vyJIToTMoV
— WTA (@WTA) February 17, 2017
Standing between both of them would be the unpredictable forecast, which forced both of them into playing multiple matches on Friday. Wozniacki was cautiously optimistic of starting Saturday’s championship match on time.
“I don’t want to jinx anything, so let’s just hope there’ll be good weather. I’m just excited to be on the court, and if I have to wait a little bit, I’m used to it by now and I’m feeling good!”
A tennis career plays out on a myriad of stages. One minute, American Christina McHale is headlining Margaret Court Arena and battling Agnieszka Radwanska, the reigning WTA Finals champion, in the first round of the Australian Open.
The next, she finds herself far from Melbourne’s spotlight and bringing new meaning to the word “battle” in an ITF 50K Challenger tournament in Maui.
“I felt like I needed more match play, because I didn’t get enough matches in Australia,” McHale told WTA Insider on Sunday.
A former World No.24, McHale went 1-3 in her first three events of the season, but rather than retreat to the practice courts – and the cold New Jersey winter – she made the rare decision to enter an ITF event during the second week of the Australian Open.
“I’d just had a really long off-season and I was doing a lot of practicing. I saw there were a bunch of tournaments, and Maui seemed like a good place because it’s on the way home; it seemed like a good place to stop. Luckily, I got a wildcard at the last minute, so everything worked out.”
Top seed at an event that featured Brisbane International semifinalist Samantha Crawford and ASB Classic quarterfinalist Naomi Broady, McHale hardly cruised through a Valley Isle vacation at her first ITF event since 2013.
“It’s definitely different. The nice part of it was that it was in Hawaii, and the hotel was right at the courts, so it was easy to walk to.
“The first day I was waiting for the schedule to be emailed to me, because that’s how it normally is at WTA tournaments, and then I remembered that’s not how it works in ITFs! We didn’t have ball kids, and we didn’t have a full set of line judges on some of the courts.
“It took some getting used to.”
Sand sprints in paradise. Hello from Hawaii ? pic.twitter.com/VmUFCcXmv7
— Christina McHale (@ChristinaMcHale) January 26, 2016
After fighting through a tricky opening round against former World No.7 Nicole Vaidisova, she needed three sets in the semifinals against the big-serving Broady and American teenager Raveena Kingsley, who had taken out Crawford and Jessica Pegula to reach the final.
“I had some really tough matches here; my semifinal was really difficult and so was my match today. The level of play was quite high. In terms of getting good match play in, it was tough.”
The American had started her 2016 season with a first career WTA doubles title in Hobart, but Maui was her first title of any kind in singles, having reached one WTA final in 2014 and two ITF finals at the very start of her career in 2007 and 2009.
Ranked solidly in the Top 70, McHale considers herself lucky to be able to play an ITF knowing the doors to the most prestigious tournaments remain open to her.
“It definitely makes you appreciate a lot of the things I take for granted when playing WTA tournaments. It might have even been a little bit of a wake up call. But everyone here was really nice, and all of the volunteers that helped put this tournament together did a good job. I don’t want to take away from that.”
Indeed, McHale takes away only positives from her winning week in Maui, getting some much-needed match play, all with a tropical backdrop at her disposal.
“My fitness trainer Rodney Marshall is a USTA fitness coach; he was here and so I kind of used it as a training week, as well. I was able to do some work outs on the beach; it’s really cold back home so it was nice to be in this warmer weather for the week. It was good to have a men and women’s tournament, so there were a lot of players here to practice with.
“Just being in Hawaii was really nice.”
Heading home before resuming a full slate of WTA events in Rio, Acapulco, Monterrey, and Indian Wells, a confident McHale hopes to have kick-started her season with the wind at her back and a sunkissed trophy in her hand.
“It’s definitely very motivating. This week served its purpose, because I came here trying to get matches and work on my fitness. In that regard, it was really good.
“It does make you appreciate all of the Slams and the other big tournaments that we go to.”
Thanks for a great week Maui! ? @TCofM pic.twitter.com/h6gh8Y7YG4
— Christina McHale (@ChristinaMcHale) January 31, 2016
Follow Christina on Twitter @ChristinaMcHale!
Karolina Pliskova takes on Zhang Shuai in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Total Open.