Tennis News

It’s one of the most glorious days of the tennis season: Wimbledon’s manic Monday. All eight fourth-round battles will take place at SW19 and we’re previewing them right here at WTATennis.com, courtesy of contributor Chris Oddo.

Monday

Round of 16

[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. [13] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #14)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 9-3
Key Stat: Williams earned her 300^th Grand Slam win on Sunday, which is second-most in WTA history.

After a tough second round scuffle with Christina McHale, six-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams pushed past Germany’s Annika Beck on Sunday in 51 minutes to set up a heavily anticipated round of 16 battle with Svetlana Kuznetsova. Pleased with Sunday’s form, Williams says the McHale challenge has set her up nicely for the challenges ahead. “I think the McHale match really helped me,” she said. “To be honest, I felt like losing that first set so tight and her playing better than she’s ever played in her life really helped me to realize that I can play better and I can lift my game.” And of her Day 7 walk in the park past Beck? “It gives me a lot of confidence,” she told reporters on Sunday. “I know what it takes to win these tournaments. It’s just about now just doing it.” Kuznetsova’s confidence is also buoyed by her upset of Williams this spring in Miami. “It’s a great thing to play Serena in Wimbledon,” she said of facing the world No.1 on Monday. “I’m really happy about it. She will be the favorite, but I enjoy playing those kind of matches. I will just try to do my best.” Will her best be good enough to shock Centre Court on Day 8, or will Williams move a step closer to an elusive 22nd Grand Slam title on Monday?

Pick: S. Williams in three

[27] CoCo Vandeweghe (USA #30) vs. [21] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS #23)
Head-to-head: Vandeweghe leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Pavlyuchenkova has won three matches consecutively on grass for the first time in her career.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova looked stunning in her straight-sets takedown of Timea Bacsinszky on Sunday; CoCo Vandeweghe was in fine form during her straight-sets victory over Roberta Vinci on Sunday. Which one of these two powerhouses can keep it rolling on Manic Monday? Vandeweghe has had more success on the grass in general. The American has now won 11 of 12 on the surface this summer and has taken all six sets she has played at Wimbledon. A quarterfinalist last year, Vandeweghe will be the favorite heading into this tilt, but if Pavlyuchenkova’s current form holds we could be in for a high-octane scuffle. “It’s going to be a totally different animal,” Vandeweghe said of facing the hard-hitting Russian just 24 hours after facing slice-and-dicey Roberta Vinci. “She beat a tough player in Bacsinszky. We’ll see what happens when I wake up Monday morning.”

Pick: Vandeweghe in three

[3] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #3) vs. [19] Dominika Cibulkova (SVK #18)
Head-to-head: Radwanska leads, 7-5
Key Stat: Cibulkova has won eight matches in a row.

The 13th meeting between Agnieszka Radwanska and Dominika Cibulkova should be a cracker. The pair have played three times in 2016 and all three tilts have gone the distance with Cibulkova winning two including their last meeting at the Aegon Classic just a few weeks ago. That victory has springboarded the Slovakian to some of her greatest success on grass – she took the Birmingham title and has reached the second week at Wimbledon for the first time since 2011. Can Cibulkova keep it going against a former Wimbledon runner-up who has her eyes on another deep run here in London? Or will the crafty Radwanska be the one to finally cool Cibulkova off?

Pick: Radwanska in three

Ekaterina Makarova (RUS #35) vs. Elena Vesnina (RUS #50)
Head-to-head: Makarova leads, 6-1
Key Stat: In her 42nd major, Elena Vesnina will bid to reach the quarterfinals for the first time.

Doubles partners and compatriots will battle to end each other’s singles runs on Day 8, as Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina meet for the eighth time. The matchup has favored Makarova, who has had the more distinguished singles career, but both players have shown good form at SW19. Makarova took out two-time champion Petra Kvitova on Day 6 and bounced right back on Sunday to defeat Barbora Strycova. Vesnina, meanwhile, has yet to lose a set at Wimbledon and has won six of seven on grass this season.

Pick: Makarova in two

[5] Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs. [9] Madison Keys (USA #9)
Head-to-head: Tied, 1-1
Key Stat: At 21 years of age, Keys is the youngest player remaining in the draw.

Skipping the grass tune-ups may have been the best thing for Simona Halep. Not only did she give herself time to get her Achilles injury ready, she also had ample time to gain comfort at Wimbledon, both with the surroundings and with the surface. She says she wanted to keep playing after pulling out of Birmingham with an injury, but her coach urged her to come to Wimbledon and start preparing for the Championships. “I wanted to play Eastbourne but Darren [Cahill] told me I have to come here to practice,” she told reporters on Saturday. “It’s better to get used to this club. It was a good idea. I came here very early, and I practiced every day, hard practices.” Will that practice pay off when she meets rising American Madison Keys on Monday? Keys proved to be a Wimbledon warrior in week one, twice coming through in three sets to reach the second week for the second consecutive year.

Pick: Halep in three

[4] Angelique Kerber (GER #4) vs. Misaki Doi (JAP #49)
Head-to-head: Kerber leads, 4-0
Key Stat: Doi is the first player from Japan to reach the fourth round at a major since Wimbledon 2006 (Sugiyama).

Misaki Doi is a name that holds a special place in Angelique Kerber’s heart. Kerber had “one leg on the plane” in Melbourne before rallying in the second-set tiebreaker to finish off Doi in three sets at this year’s Australian Open. So much changed for Kerber after that fateful first-round match. She won her first major title two weeks later and has reached as high as No.2 in the rankings. After flaming out of Roland Garros in the first round, Kerber is looking to continue to build on that Melbourne success by pushing further at Wimbledon. Doi, meanwhile has already reached further than she’s ever been before at the Championships. She took out Anna-Lena Friedsam in the third round to reach the second week of a major for the first time. Can the 25-year-old avenge her four career losses to Kerber with one career-defining win on Monday?

Pick: Kerber in three

[8] Venus Williams (USA #8) vs. [12] Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP #12)
Head-to-head: Tied, 3-3
Key Stat: Venus Williams is the oldest player to reach the round of 16 at a major since 1994 Wimbledon (Navratilova).

Back in the second week at Wimbledon for the 14^th time, 36-year-old Venus Williams will attempt to take the next step of what could be a run for the ages. But standing in her way is an energized Carla Suárez Navarro, a player not known for grass prowess but nonetheless improving on the surface with each passing year. Williams and Suárez Navarro’s seventh meeting promises to be a battle—they’ve split the previous six. Does Williams have enough in the tank to forge ahead despite having to play three sets in each of her last two matches? One thing’s for certain: she’s up for the challenge. “Of course, I want to win,” Williams said. “There are 128 people in this draw who theoretically are here to win. But you have to do the right things at the right time. That’s what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to push myself to be right there.”

Pick: V. Williams in three

[28] Lucie Safarova (CZE #29) vs. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ #96)
Head-to-head: Shvedova leads, 3-0
Key Stat: Safarova is back in the second week of a major for the first time in a year.

Lucie Safarova is finally reclaiming the form that saw her reach her first Grand Slam final and claim a spot in the Top 10 for the first time in 2015, after a long period of illness and injury. Is she ready to take the next stop and reach the last eight at Wimbledon for the second time in the last three years? She’ll have to get past Yaroslava Shvedova to get there. The Kazakh owns an unblemished lifetime record against Safarova, and will be high on confidence after an upset of Sabine Lisicki on Day 6.

Pick: Safarova in three

By the Numbers:

4 – Number of Russian players in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, most at Wimbledon since 2009. There are also four Americans remaining. Eight other countries have a single representative.

11-1 – Coco Vandeweghe’s record on grass this season.

33 – Number of three-set matches played in the first three rounds at Wimbledon out of a possible 112.

123 – Fastest serve of the tournament, produced by Serena Williams during her Day 7 win over Annika Beck.

7 – Players to have reached the round of 16 without the loss of a set (Cibulkova, Doi, Halep, Kerber, Pavlyuchenkova, Vesnina, Vandeweghe).

LONDON, England – Dominika Cibulkova upset No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in a rollercoaster encounter on No.3 Court to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

In a match that had more momentum shifts than there were rain delays in the opening week, it was Cibulkova that eventually hauled herself across the finishing line, firing a forehand into the corner to close out a 6-3, 5-7, 9-7 victory in exactly three hours.

“My winners were the difference. Today was, I would say, the most physically tough, it was the toughest match for me I would say my whole career,” Cibulkova said. “I felt really, really tired when the match was going on.

“But I was just fighting for every single ball. And especially when you have an opponent that doesn’t give you any free gifts, you just know that you have to earn every single point. It takes so much energy. It’s even tougher mentally. Today was just amazing, amazing match.”

“I was really crying, it was emotional”

What it means to reach the #Wimbledon quarter-final, featuring@Cibulkovahttps://t.co/FonJyFtYOn

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) 4 July 2016

This was the latest installment in an increasingly dramatic rivalry; in Indian Wells this spring Radwanska came from match point down to triumph, before Cibulkova gained revenge following tight battles in Madrid, then Eastbourne.

However, for the first hour or so it looked like Cibulkova was on course for an unexpectedly straightforward triumph. Bullying the No.3 seed from the baseline, she eased through the opening set and then broke for a 5-4 lead in the second.

Just as she had a few rounds earlier against Ana Konjuh, Radwanska’s best tennis came with her back firmly against the wall, fending off a match point before expertly making her way into the net to break back. A few games later and they were locked at one-set all.

Radwanska continued this charge at the start of the decider, threatening on Cibulkova’s service games while whistling through her own. Cibulkova, though, was the first to break, doing so to love in the seventh game with a drop shot that would have made her opponent proud. 

Eager not to be outdone, the Pole showcased her own artistry at the net to draw level immediately. The drama, though, was only just beginning.

After weathering a series of torrid service games, Radwanska got an unexpected glimpse of the finishing line at 6-5 when Cibulkova wilted at the end of yet another energy-sapping exchange. Cibulkova responded superbly, summoning another blistering forehand to wipe out the match point.

A few games later the Slovak was on the brink once more, and this time Radwanska had no answer, watching a 56th winner sail past to end her Wimbledon dream for another year.

Cibulkova, meanwhile, advances to the quarterfinals for the second time in her career, There she will face Elena Vesnina, the winner of an equally absorbing encounter with Ekaterina Makarova, 5-7, 6-1, 9-7.

Excellent tennis match happening on bbc2. @ARadwanska vs @Cibulkova ?????? #Wimbledon

— Laura Robson (@laurarobson5) July 4, 2016

There’s a fresh face on the scene at this year’s Australian Open, as 17-year-old Jamiee Fourlis impressed home fans in a convincing first round win.

While Australia’s headlines focused on friend and rival Destanee Aiava, the Melbourne-born Fourlis had an agenda of her own, knocking out former World No. 50 Anna Tatishvili of the United States in straight sets.

“I tried to stay in the moment, tried to keep everything on court. There was nothing to lose today,” Fourlis told reporters post-match. “Winning your first match in a Grand Slam doesn’t come every day. At the moment I’m still trying to take it all in. But it’s an amazing feeling.”

Fourlis lost the 18/U Australian Championships to Aiava just weeks ago, and was able to play qualifying for the year’s opening Grand Slam thanks to a strong run at the annual Wildcard Playoff in late December.

After watching her compatriot Aiava bow out on Day 1, the 17-year-old kept a cool head to advance to the second round in her grand slam debut.

“She handled herself really well under the pressure of playing at home in her first Grand Slam,” childhood coach Kane Dewhurst told wtatennis.com. “She has a lot of support behind her, so it was no surprise to see her play consistently well throughout.”

Dewhurst first worked with the World No. 414 since the age of five, and was certainly impressed with what he saw in Melbourne on Monday.

“Jaimee has always been a clean ball striker. She has weapons on both sides, and it’s now just a matter of understanding when to use them. She has great variety in her game as well, and that’s why she has plenty of growth and development ahead of her.”

Fourlis fought back from an early break down in the second against Tatishvili to close out the match, 6-4 6-3, where she will meet the experienced No.8 seed and two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Dewhurst, the owner of Vida Tennis, believes that while the obvious step up in class will be difficult, Fourlis has plenty of upside and could cause an upset.

“Kuznetsova will be a huge step up in class and a massive challenge, but if she can settle early, there is absolutely nothing to lose. The sky is the limit, so I’ll tell her to just get out there and go after it.

“I don’t think we should put any limits on anyone, and there is no reason she can’t cause an upset.”

She certainly has a tough assignment on her hands, but in the shadows of the MCG, home to her beloved football team, the Collingwood Magpies, Fourlis wants all the support she can get in the second round.

“Hopefully some Collingwood players can come and watch!”

Adriano Del Monte, wtatennis.com contributor.

LONDON, Great Britain – With the final four Wimbledon contenders set to take “Centre” stage on Thursday, WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen will deliver play-by-play action live on wtatennis.com.

Will Venus Williams meet sister Serena for the first all-Williams Grand Slam final since the 2009 Championships? Will we see a rematch of the Australian Open championship match between world No.1 Serena Williams reignite her quest for a record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title against Melbourne conqueror Angelique Kerber? Or will Elena Vesnina, who began the year ranked outside the Top 100, spark the shock of the century on the lawns of the All England Club by reaching her first major final?

Stay tuned for all the action and Insider insight right here on the Insider Live Blog: