Insider Podcast: Looking Back On A Stirring, Surprising 2016 Season
WTA Insider | The Insider team takes a long look back at the 2016 season’s ups and downs, Angelique Kerber’s rise to the top, and break down the best moments of the year.
WTA Insider | The Insider team takes a long look back at the 2016 season’s ups and downs, Angelique Kerber’s rise to the top, and break down the best moments of the year.
Speaking to the media for the first time since facing down a knife-wielding intruder in her Prostejov flat, Petra Kvitova delivered a strong address to the tennis world, vowing to look towards a bright future where she returns to the court once again.
“While what has happened to me was very scary, I do not see myself as a victim,” she said in a statement. “I do not feel sorry for myself, and I will not look backwards.”
Kvitova was attacked in her home on Monday, suffering multiple lacerations in her left hand as she fought off the attacker, posing as a gas inspector. Following a surgery that repaired two nerves, Kvitova’s doctor recommended the two-time Wimbledon champion not resume training for at least six months, and can bear no weight in that hand at all for up to three.
“I will use all my energy to focus on my recovery, and will do everything I can to return to the sport I love as soon as possible.”
The former world No.2 finished 2016 on a high note, winning the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai without dropping a set; though she fell out of the Top 10 earlier in the season, she finished the year ranked No.11, and appeared poised to make a strong surge back up the rankings – even as a foot injury attempted to derail her pre-season.
Updating fans on her recovery, Kvitova discussed being able to move the fingers in her left hand for the first time since the attack, describing it as “the greatest Christmas present I could have wished for.”
Check out Kvitova’s full press conference below (in Czech), and click here to read the full transcript of the Czech star’s statement, in English.
In today’s SAP Stat Of The Day, Destanee Aiava scored a big win for millennium babies everywhere at the Brisbane International.
ROME, Italy – Former World No.5 Eugenie Bouchard emerged on top of a match that featured 14 breaks of serve against former No.1 Jelena Jankovic, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, to advance into the second round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. Reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber looms as her next opponent.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Rome right here on wtatennis.com!
“I think I’m still on that journey of trying to, you know, be the best player I can be,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I feel like I have been working hard every single day, and I feel like I have good guidance, I’m on the right path.
“So I think it’s just making sure I still continue to believe in myself, and, you know, trusting that if I do all the right things, if I work hard, if I have the talent, if I have good guidance, you know, one day it has to come.”
The 2014 Wimbledon runner-up recovered from an early break to win four of the next five games and clinch a one-set lead, but twice fell behind a double break to Jankovic, who was playing her second match on clay in 2016 thanks to a right shoulder injury. The Serb recently reunited with Ricardo Sanchez, with whom she’d worked at the time she finished 2008 No.1 in the world, and went on to level proceedings at a set apiece.
“I played well on several occasions, and I think I did pretty well in that second set,” Jankovic told press after the match. “I think mentally and as well physically I went down in that third set. I was getting physically tired and then mentally, as well, because I haven’t been playing matches, and as well I lost a little bit of strength and just being on the court for a while.
“It’s only my second match since Indian Wells, so it’s been a while since I have been competing on a daily basis and just being out there.”
3rd Set!@Jelena_Jankovic storms back to force a decider vs Bouchard 4-6, 6-2! #ibi16 https://t.co/nAbq201T08
— WTA (@WTA) May 10, 2016
For her part, Bouchard – who also returned to former coach Nick Saviano – had lost a similarly topsy-turvy three-setter at the Mutua Madrid Open to Irina-Camelia Begu; undaunted in Rome, she raced ahead 3-0 in the decider and never looked back, hitting 29 winners in the nearly two-hour match to 32 unforced errors, and winning 12 of her 16 approaches to net.
“I knew it would be a tough battle. I have played her a couple of times before, and, you know, she gets a lot of balls back. She’s tough. She stays with you. I just had to keep being tough.
“I realized that she started controlling too many points, so in the third set I decided no matter what, you know, even if I make a couple more mistakes I need to step in and go for it. I think that made the difference.”
Earning her first win on red clay this season, the Canadian booked a second round encounter with No.2 seed Angelique Kerber, who is looking to shake off her own early Madrid defeat to Barbora Strycova, and earned a bye in the round of 32.
“I feel like it’s my first year on tour again. I feel like it’s 2013 again where I’m playing all these tournaments almost for the first time and obviously not expected to win these matches.
“So it’s been an interesting experience kind of going back to that, and refreshing, as well, and challenging, as well. I play seeds early on. I go and play smaller tournaments. It’s a different lifestyle for me.
“But I’m grinding and I truly love that. I see it as a challenge.”
.@GenieBouchard edges Jankovic 6-4, 2-6, 6-3!
Sets @InteBNLdItalia Second round vs @AngeliqueKerber! #ibi16 pic.twitter.com/oe15UC11b5
— WTA (@WTA) May 10, 2016
Svetlana Kuznetsova takes on Destanee Aiava in the second round at the Brisbane International.
ROME, Italy – Eugenie Bouchard scored her biggest victory of the year to battle past No.2 seed Angelique Kerber 6-1, 5-7, 7-5 at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and claim her first win against a Top 10 player since 2014.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Rome right here on wtatennis.com!
Ahead of their second round clash, Bouchard showed her introspective side when asked about her 2016 campaign – she has reached two finals but also suffered two first-round losses.
“I think I’m still on that journey of trying to be the best player I can be,” she said in her press conference after defeating Jelena Jankovic. “I feel like I have been working hard every single day, and I feel like I have good guidance, I’m on the right path.
“So I think it’s just making sure I still continue to believe in myself, and, you know, trusting that if I do all the right things, if I work hard, if I have the talent, if I have good guidance, one day it has to come.”
The first big test of that mentality came in the form of Australian Open and Stuttgart champion Angelique Kerber, World No.2. Though Bouchard leads their head to head 2-1 – winning their two most recent encounters – the pair hadn’t faced each other since 2014, the year the Canadian rocketed up the rankings.
The top German came out of the gate playing uncharacteristically flat and error-prone, striking almost two per game in the first set alone. Bouchard took advantage of the free points, employing rock-solid defense to keep returning the ball back to Kerber to keep drawing out the errors.
Bouchard won eight games in a row to put the World No.2 down 6-1, 3-0. Kerber finally got a chance to break for 3-1 in the second set, aided by a costly double fault from the Canadian. That seemed to kick start her comeback into the match: Bouchard struck four errors in one game as Kerber rallied back to level the score at 4-4. A gutsy smash from the back of the court on break point gave Kerber the set.
The German carried her momentum into the decider, breaking early to go up 2-0, but Bouchard got the break right back and the pair were on even footing for most of the final set. A late break at 6-5 gave the Canadian the extra push she needed, and she took the match after two hours and twenty minutes.
“I did feel like I was playing better tennis today, especially at the beginning,” Bouchard said after the match. “That’s how I want to play. That gives me confidence knowing I can play that way against one of the best players in the world.
Despite her victory against No.2 Kerber being her first Top 10 win since her 2014 defeat of then-No.7 Caroline Wozniacki in Wuhan, Bouchard can still find learning moments from the match.
“For sure I’m happy to win, but at the same time I’m disappointed in myself having a lead like I had, you know. I feel like I could have done better in that second set,” she said.
“My goal next time is if I’m in a position like that is to really be more mentally disciplined and keep pushing. Because, you know, these players, if you give them a chance they will come back.”
Elina Svitolina takes on Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals at the Brisbane International.
BRISBANE, Australia – Alizé Cornet played an inspired match to oust the reigning WTA Finals champion Dominika Cibulkova and secure her spot in the semifinals of the Brisbane International.
The No.2 seed Cibulkova had to mount a major comeback in her previous match when Zhang Shuai had her a set and a break down, but she couldn’t come up with enough to pull it off again as she fell to Cornet 6-3, 7-5.
Cornet, the only non-seed through to the quarterfinals, reached just one semifinal all of last year; now she’s knocked out the World No.5 to do so in her very first tournament of 2017.
What a rally! ?@AlizeCornet holds 5-2 in the opening set vs Cibulkova! #BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/tdAuyaETot
— WTA (@WTA) January 5, 2017
“What a start of the year! It’s the first week and I think my game is not so bad!” Cornet enthused after the match. “Beating a player like Dominika takes an amazing performance, everybody knows how much she fights and hits hard the ball. I’m just very, very, very happy.”
Cibulkova will likely rue her missed opportunities – she had ample chances to take the lead in the first set, with four break points coming in the first three games alone. But every time she was against the wall, the Frenchwoman found a first serve to bail her out of trouble as she did throughout the match.
A pair of daring back-to-back dropshots gave Cornet the first break of the match, which she quickly consolidated for a 4-1 lead after edging Cibulkova in a monumental effort. The pair were neck and neck throughout the first set, but as the match progressed it was Cornet that won the big points and close games.
Into a second set, Cornet continued to claim the scrappy points, changing up the pace and keeping the ball in play to force Cibulkova to make the error. The Slovak was visibly frustrated like many of Cornet’s opponents as the Frenchwoman went to the dropshot time and time again to build a 4-1 lead.
.@Cibulkova is back in it!
Levels the score 5-5 in the second set! #BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/CDP6N3gW40
— WTA (@WTA) January 5, 2017
Despite her vital first serves, Cornet struggled with double faults giving up 10 during the course of the match, including two in the same game to give Cibulkova a lifeline down 5-3. The World No.5 consolidated, finding ways to maneuver Cornet into the corners of the court to hit past her, finally breaking to level the set 5-5. But the Frenchwoman would not be denied and broke straight back, holding her nerve to serve it out after a two hour and three minute battle.
Cornet credited the good vibes in Australia for bringing out her best tennis, after all last year she won the title at the Hobart International.
“I always say Australia is a lucky charm for me, I always play good here! And Brisbane is a bigger tournament than Hobart, so being in the semifinal means a lot to me. I hope I’ll be ready and fit for the next match.”
Through to the Brisbane semifinals for the first time, Frenchwoman awaits the winner between No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza and No.5 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova to play for a spot in the final.
Alison Riske takes on Camila Giorgi in the semifinals of the Shenzhen Open.
Karolina Pliskova talks through her semifinal win over Elina Svitolina at the Brisbane International.