Eastbourne: Puig vs Wozniacki
Monica Puig takes on Caroline Wozniacki in the third round of the Aegon International.
Monica Puig takes on Caroline Wozniacki in the third round of the Aegon International.
An interview with Monica Puig after her win in the quarterfinals of the Aegon International.
An interview with Karolina Pliskova after her win in the semifinals of the Aegon International.
Dominika Cibulkova takes on Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarterfinals of the Aegon International.
Dominika Cibulkova takes on Karolina Pliskova in the final of the Aegon International Eastbourne.
What would Garbiñe Muguruza and Petra Kvitova do if they could prank any player, if they could have any super power and if they could lift any trophy? Find out in Wimbledon’s If Series.
Hear from Madison Keys before the start of the tournament.
Simona Halep hit the ground running after lengthy rain delays, dropping just two games to former French Open champ Francesca Schiavone to race into the third round at Wimbledon.
MONTERREY, Mexico – World No.1 Angelique Kerber was taken to three sets by Italian veteran Francesca Schiavone but came away with a hard-fought victory in her opening match at the Abierto GNP Seguros.
A finalist here in 2013, Kerber was back in Monterrey after a three-year absence from the tournament and needed an hour and forty minutes to shake off the rust and move on 4-6, 6-0, 6-4 against the 36-year-old wildcard Schiavone.
“It was not so easy to find the rhythm in the first set, because she played very well from the first ball and I was trying to find my game,” Kerber told press after the victory.
“I was a little bit tight today, but after the second set I was playing my game and moving good. I’m happy that I stayed positive.”
First set goes to @Schiavone_Fra!
Grabs the opening set off Kerber 6-4! pic.twitter.com/B2csuEMq5M
— WTA (@WTA) 5 de abril de 2017
Schiavone, who previously announced that this year would be the end of her nearly two-decade-long career, opened her final Monterrey campaign in commanding fashion against the World No.1. She broke early and raced ahead to a 3-0 lead before Kerber found her footing.
Kerber stayed patient to pounce on her first opportunity as the Italian faltered while serving out the set, striking her first double fault. The German came up with a laser-accurate forehand winner to finally earn the break back, but Schiavone calmly struck back in the next game to take the set.
The World No.1 finally found her range – and her forehands – in emphatic fashion in the second set, breaking Schiavone three times in a row and dropping just three points on her own serve to take the second set in less than 15 minutes and level the match.
World No.1 @AngeliqueKerber survives!
Edges Schiavone 4-6, 6-0, 6-4 in @Abierto_GNP First round! pic.twitter.com/jw662N6zM6
— WTA (@WTA) 5 de abril de 2017
After going down an early break in the third, Schiavone finally stopped the rot of Kerber’s eight games in a row. The Italian refused to fade away and stayed within touching distance, but wasn’t able to pressure the German’s serve the way she did in the first set. Kerber didn’t face any break points and stayed solid to serve out the match and take the hard-fought opening victory.
Kerber will take on Mandy Minella in the next round after the Luxembourger defeated Elitsa Kostova in a tight straight sets earlier in the day, 7-6(3), 6-3.
“I will be looking more on my side of the court,” Kerber said. “I’ll be trying to go out and enjoy the match and try to be aggressive. I think I’ve never played against her, but I think it will be a good match as well.”
LONDON, Great Britain – No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska had to dig deep in her second round match against Ana Konjuh, saving three match points to narrowly dodge an upset bid from the 18-year-old Croat.
With No.2 seed Garbiñe Muguruza bowing out in a shock second-round upset, British No.1 Johanna Konta falling against the resurgent Eugenie Bouchard and Belinda Bencic retiring earlier in the day, it seemed like the 2012 finalist would be the next big name on the chopping block. But Radwanska dug deep to save three match points and deny Konjuh the biggest win of her career, 6-2, 4-6, 9-7.
Despite Radwanska going down in her opening service game, it looked like it would be a routine win for the Pole, who broke three times and made just one unforced error in the first set to get ahead comfortably.
But Konjuh, who last year became the youngest WTA title winner in almost a decade when she lifted her maiden trophy at the Aegon Open Nottingham, rallied back valiantly and put Radwanska down a break for a 3-2 lead. She cut her unforced error count by almost half – 19 in the first set to just 10 – and improved her court movement, coming up to the net more and cutting off Radwanska’s angles.
Konjuh held on to that narrow lead and fought off seven break points to take the second set and level the score against the World No.3. Under pressure, Radwanska struggled to put pace on the ball as uncharacteristic errors began to fly from her racquet.
Konjuh held her first match point at 5-3 on Radwanska’s serve, but the 18-year-old’s nerves reared their ugly head as she buried it into the net. She had two more in the next game but a heart-stopping net cord ball fell on her side, denying her the match once again as Radwanska broke back.
At 7-7 with Radwanska serving ahead 40-15, Konjuh picked up a nasty injury after rolling her right ankle while chasing down a drop shot. She was back on court after a lengthy medical time out, but her movement was visibly hampered and she struggled to find power on her serve as well as run down Radwanska’s shots. Radwanska completed her great escape and took the match 6-2, 4-6, 9-7.
Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic awaits Radwanska in the third round. Siniakova came back from a set down to topple the No.30 seed Caroline Garcia 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
More to come…
A valiant effort from 18-year-old Konjuh, who limps off after rolling her ankle and pushing Radwanska to the limit https://t.co/bQvBulrLVA
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 30, 2016