Tennis News

BEIJING, China – Madison Keys moved one step closer to qualifying for her first BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, edging a streaking Petra Kvitova, 6-3, 6-7(2), 7-6(5), to advance to her first Premier Mandatory semifinal at the China Open. Keys will play Johanna Konta on Saturday for a place in the final.

1. Keys’ improved resilience wins the day…again.

No single stat explains Madison Keys’ rise through the ranks in 2016 than her three-set record. In 2014 she was 6-10. In 2015 she was 7-8. In 2016? She’s now 17-5.

“You look at my scores, there’s lulls and stuff but I feel like before it would spiral really quickly,” Keys told WTA Insider earlier this week in Beijing. “Now I’m stopping it and getting better at that.

“I think it’s that confidence of knowing ‘Don’t panic, you can do this.’ I think the biggest thing is knowing that those thoughts of panic are probably going to go into your brain and just accepting it. So that’s been the biggest thing. Not fighting it and trying to think I’m going to have the perfect mentality the entire time. That’s not going to happen. So just knowing it and accepting it has been a huge thing for me.”

To succeed as a power player you have to be able to execute under pressure. Players who can grind out points have the luxury of being able to play for the next shot, prolonging rallies and using their defense to get themselves out of trouble. Players like Kvitova and Keys do not have that luxury. When the opening is there they have to execute. That becomes more and more difficult when the pressure is on.

Keys had multiple opportunities to let this match slip away. She served for the straight set win at 5-4 in the second set only to get broken and lose the tiebreaker. After building a quick 3-0 lead in the final set she let Kvitova back into the set at 3-3 and then had to fend off seven break points to get the match into a final set tie-break.

Then, on the biggest pressure point of the match at 5-5 in the tie-break, Kvitova maintained her discipline and kept the ball on Keys’ less dangerous backhand side before the American finally had enough.

“That was just like, we’re going to go for it and see what happens. Hope for the best,” Keys told reporters afterwards with a laugh. Indeed, Keys gripped and ripped a backhand down-the-line winner to earn match point. She only needed one.

“It was about one or two points in the end,” Kvitova told WTA Insider. “I had break points in the third and I don’t know, I didn’t really think I did anything really wrong. She served well and really went for it at 5-5 in the tiebreaker and put the backhand down the line. It was a great move from her.”

2. Kvitova’s resurgence in China could continue in Zhuhai.

Kvitova was understandably dejected after the loss, having come so close to extending her win-streak to nine matches.
“I felt like the first two sets I was the worst player until the last game of the second set when I break her and then the tie-break,” Kvitova said. “Then in the third I thought I was the better player, but that’s tennis.”

Kvitova was one for 11 on break points in the final set. Keys did well to save more than a handful on her own accord, but Kvitova had a relatively easy forehand on one that she put into the net.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have missed that forehand, but that’s just how it is,” she said. “I had more chances than that. I think both of us in the third were both mentally strong, it was just about the third and you never know how those tiebreaks will go.”

“It was a good fight and finally I am done here.”

Kvitova finally found her game in China, winning the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open last week and making her third China Open quarterfinal. In all she went 8-1 through China to bring her ranking back up – she could return to the Top 10 next week depending on Konta’s results in Beijing – and finish the year strong. In all, Kvitova played nine matches in 12 days in China and a brief respite will do her good.

“I’m really tired and I just need to rest,” Kvitova said. “Especially when you lose you just feel more tired than normally.”

Kvitova will finish her regular season in Luxembourg next week and then will head to the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai to finish her WTA season. “We are playing the final of the Fed Cup so I think it will be good to play in Zhuhai,” Kvitova said.

How big is the Konta-Keys semi @ChinaOpen?

Keys wins: Qualifies for @WTAFinalsSG.
Konta wins: Makes Top 10 debut, moves to No.8 in RTS.

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) October 7, 2016

3. Keys on the verge of qualifying for Singapore.

If she advances to the final she will lock down her Singapore spot*. The 21-year-old holds the keys to her own fate this week and Saturday’s semifinal looms particularly large considering she is not presently entered in any more tournaments before the WTA Finals. In other words, barring any last minute wildcards, Beijing is her last chance to earn points.

“It’s tough,” Keys told WTA Insider earlier in the week. “Do I use that as my motivation to try and figure it out or is that going to make me more nervous and put more pressure on me? It just depends on the day.

“Some days it’s like ‘No one say the word! We’re in Beijing, that’s all we’re doing, there’s no more tournaments for the rest of the year.’ Other days it’s like ‘This is really tough, grinding, it’s been a long season, but I’m that close.’ I want to put myself in the best position and I want to be able to walk away, qualifying or not, knowing that I did everything I could to get there.”

*Editor’s note: Karolina Pliskova has withdrawn from Linz and Garbiñe Muguruza has replaced her as a Top 10 direct entry into the main draw. In addition, Dominika Cibulkova and Keys have taken wildcards into Linz. As a result, while a win over Konta on Saturday will place Keys on the cusp of qualification, she will no longer automatically qualify for the WTA Finals by making the China Open final.

BEIJING, China – Johanna Konta upset Madison Keys to reach the final of the China Open and become the first British player in 32 years to reach the Top 10.

Watch live action from Beijing on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

This summer in Montréal, Konta had the chance to reach the Top 10 only to slip to a surprise defeat at the hands of World No.121 Kristina Kucova. However, this time she rose to the occasion magnificently, withstanding a mid-match comeback from Keys to complete a 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-4 win.

“I’m definitely enjoying my time here. It’s my first time in Beijing and I hope to play many more times here. It’s an amazing atmosphere, such a beautiful stadium, it’s a real pleasure to play here,” Konta said in her on-court interview.

Keys had produced one of the performances of her career 24 hours earlier to defeat Petra Kvitova, but failed to scale those heights against Konta, committing 47 unforced errors in their two and a half hours on court. Nevertheless, she still had her chances and looked to be headed for victory when she skipped around a return to break in the first game of the deciding set.

Instead it was Konta that took charge, drawing level immediately and threatening further breaks. Keys’ serve bailed her out on several occasions, but she finally buckled at 5-4 to send Konta into her first Premier Mandatory final.

“I don’t really think there was a secret [to winning],” Konta added. “She’s such a high-quality player, has such a weight of shot -I’m pretty sure I was cleaning the back of the court there! I just tried to run down as many balls as I could and tried to take the chances I got.”

Konta can now look forward to a meeting against 2011 Beijing champion Agnieszka Radwanska. 

“It’s really special. As I said I’m just enjoying being here and trying to prolong it as long as possible and I feel very blessed to be coming back tomorrow for the final.”

On Monday she will also become the 121st different player to reach the Top 10 since the WTA Rankings were introduced on November 3, 1975. She is the fourth Briton to achieve the feat, following in the footsteps of Virginia Wade, Sue Barker and, most recently, Jo Durie (August, 1984).

LINZ, Austria – Dominika Cibulkova beat defending champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to make the Linz semifinals – and take a big stride towards BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

SINGAPORE – Set to enter the Centre Court arena for her BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global debut is Karolina Pliskova, the Girl on Fire.

“It’s crazy, because that month in the States really changed everything,” she told WTA Insider after clinching qualification at the China Open. “I don’t know how far down I was on the Road to Singapore leaderboard before Cincinnati – pretty far, I think!

Down at No.17, to be exact, Pliskova was on no one’s Singapore short list in early August. But the Czech youngster quickly began cutting that ranking in half thanks to a blistering run at the Western & Southern Open, where she blitzed future No.1 Angelique Kerber for her second title of the season, and the biggest of her career.

“With my style, things can change a lot if I win a tournament or two.”

The winds of change blew at gale force speeds two weeks later. Rolling into the second week of a major tournament for the first time, she saved a match point to oust Venus Williams at the US Open, and became the fourth woman to beat both Williams sisters at the same Slam.

Roaring into her first Grand Slam final with a straight-set win over top seeded Serena, she finished second to Kerber in one of the best matches of the year, all but clinching the spot in Singapore she so narrowly missed 12 months ago.

“Last year was totally different,” she recalled with a wry smile. “I spent the whole season on the Road to Singapore, by the end, I was playing badly. So I didn’t make it.”

Tough weeks in Tokyo and Wuhan delayed the inevitable, but even after cementing her place among the Elite Eight, Pliskova was still ready to play, battling past young rival Daria Kasatkina in a tense third set tie-break.

“I was just praying to make it through one or two rounds because I knew I’m on the cut and only need a few points to get it. There’s always pressure, but I’m happy I made it, and able to win today after finding out last night. It confirms that I belong there.”

The tour’s ace leader will not only make her WTA Finals debut in singles, but also in doubles alongside partner Julia Goerges. Playing a sparse schedule but peaking at big events, Pliskova’s doubles season mirrors her singles, even if her approaches to the two disciplines are radically different.

“You can always improve things in doubles if you’re not feeling it in singles. I would maybe practice a few serves anyway after singles, so it can be a big help, where you can make improvements and practice there.

“I’m always in for doubles, and as long as it’s fun, and we’re winning, it’s good.”

Under the roof and away from the elements at the Singapore Sports Hub, her laser-like swings and unapologetic offense should be well suited to the indoor conditions. The 24-year-old knows where her strengths lie; playing for her first WTA Finals crown, she won’t be afraid to use them.

“For me, I still have one plan to play; I have to be aggressive otherwise I don’t have any chance to win.”

Lucie Safarova crashed out of the first round Kremlin Cup in straight sets at the hands of Daria Gavrilova.

The Czech, fit again after struggling with injuries throughout 2016, also failed to make to the second round in Beijing at the beginning of October and succumbed to a 6-2, 6-2 loss.

The match started evenly, with the first five games going with serve before the 2015 French Open finalist’s effort disintegrated, losing seven games in a row to hand Gavrilova the first set and a 3-0 love lead in the second.

Safarova failed to craft a single break point throughout and dropped serve once more in the final game of the match as the Australian skipped into the second round.

“Lucie had a hard time getting used to [the surface],” Gavrilova said after the match.

“I tried to play more long rallied, but she was making a lot of mistakes in her second or third shots. She didn’t perform her best today.”

She plays Carla Suárez Navarro in the next round.

Meanwhile, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had to fight hard to overcome Katreina Siniakova 7-6 (2), 5-7, 7-5.

The Russian raced into a 5-1 lead in the opening set but was pegged back by the 20-year-old, who twice broke Pavlyuchenkova when she was serving for the set. However, the No.7 seed regained her composure in the tiebreaker to move ahead.

Pavlyuchenkova started the second set brightly but, after taking a 3-0 lead, her serve let her down and Siniakova won four straight games to turn the encounter on its head. Despite Pavlyuchenkova’s best efforts to get back on level terms, her serve let her down and Siniakova levelled the match.

In the final set, Siniakova took a two-break lead but Pavlyuchenkova dug deep to level the match and avoided a tiebreaker by breaking the Czech’s serve at 6-5.

Jelena Jankovic emerged victorious in a topsy-turvy match with Jelena Ostapenko, who failed to hold serve throughout.

After exchanging breaks, Jankovic found some stability on serve, confirming a hold with an ace before a pair of unforced errors gave her an advantage. Though Ostapenko broke back, she was unable to find her serve and a second hold from the Serb gave her the first set 6-3.

Ostapenko’s woes continued in the second set as she once again failed to hold once but was able to make inroads on the Jankovic serve. The Serb held to go 3-1 up and was able to continue breaking Ostapenko until she secured a place in the second round.

Elsewhere, Alizé Cornet eliminated Shelby Rogers in straight sets. The first set was a tight affair, with the pair exchanging breaks in the fifth and sixth games before the 26-year-old saved two set points to take the tiebreak 8-6.

She immediately went a break up in the second set and though the American broke back, Cornet regained her advantage to confirm her place in the next round.

Ekaterina Makarova overcame American qualifier Nicole Gibbs 7-5, 6-1. Both players routinely broke one another in the first set and the 23-year-old lost three straight games, having been serving for the set.

Makarova made no mistake from there, roaring into a 4-0 lead in the second and she sailed into the second round.

Finally, Julia Görges beat Dankta Kovinic 7-6 (3), 6-3, Anna Blinkova came from a set down to overcome Anastasija Sevastova 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10), Ana Konjuh defeated Barbora Strycova 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 and Kristina Mladenovic marched past Anna Kalinskaya 6-4, 6-2. Finally, Lesya Tsurenko was forced to retire after losing the first set 6-3 to Yulia Putintseva.

Keys answered both questions decisively in 2016: Yes, she can.

My story began in Rock Island where I dreamed of playing on the big stage. Now I want to win it all @Nike #justdoit pic.twitter.com/PlaXuSIm1j

— Madison Keys (@Madison_Keys) July 21, 2016

Keys capped off an achievement-laden season by becoming the seventh player to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. While her two breakout results last year, where she made the Australian Open semifinals and Wimbledon quarterfinals, grabbed bigger headlines, Keys’ 2016 campaign was a truer encapsulation of her talent and potential. Starting the season at No.18, Keys proceeded to make the second week of all four Slams, becoming one of just four women to pull off the feat this season. Outside of the Slams she made the quarterfinals or better at eight of 12 events, highlighted by finals at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome and the Rogers Cup in Montréal. By comparison, Keys made just two quarterfinals last year.

Keys also picked up another title on grass by winning the Aegon Classic. With the Birmingham title, Keys became the first American woman to make her Top 10 debut since Serena Williams in 1999. When the dust settled, Keys finished the regular season with a 46-15 record, an impressive improvement over her 31-18 tally in 2015 and 27-22 in 2014.

“Sometimes it just takes a little bit of time for things to click and sink in,” Keys said. “Sometimes it’s just how someone words something one time, then it just makes sense to you. I definitely think working with Thomas [Hogstedt] has been a huge benefit for me.” Keys hired Hogstedt, who previously coached the likes of Li Na, Maria Sharapova, and Caroline Wozniacki, earlier this spring.

“But I also think it’s a process. It’s being ready to handle the situation has been a big thing for me. I think I’m putting myself in those positions and handling them a lot better. That just gives me more confidence. The more I’m in those tough situations, the better I feel about them.”

Indeed, her ability to come through in tough matches has been the biggest improvement in her season. Keys is 17-5 in three-set matches this season, compared to a sub-.500 mark of 6-10 last year. She still struggles with her rhythm and decision-making in matches, but this year she’s been able to limit the dips to brief spells.

“You look at my scores and there’s lulls and stuff but I feel like before it would spiral really quickly,” Keys said. “Now I’m stopping it and getting better at that. I think it’s that confidence of knowing ‘Don’t panic, you can do this.’ I think the biggest thing is knowing that those thoughts of panic are probably going to go into your brain and just accepting it. So that’s been the biggest thing. Not fighting it and trying to think I’m going to have the perfect mentality the entire time. That’s not going to happen. So just knowing it and accepting it has been a huge thing for me.”

After starting the season with a left forearm injury, Keys has seen the hard work in the gym and on the practice court pay off. She is stronger and faster than she’s ever been and the body that would let her down has stood tall throughout the season. The ability to trust her body has freed her up to focus on her game, which continues to improve as she matures. There’s a self-assuredness about Keys this season, a swagger that wasn’t there before. Winning matches and winning them on a consistent clip breeds belief.

.@Madison_Keys joins @FearlesslyGirl as their new ambassador–> https://t.co/aJdHCUVWgv #IAmFearlesslyGIRL pic.twitter.com/x07qQZ0QUJ

— WTA (@WTA) August 24, 2016

“I feel like I’ve definitely gained confidence in myself,” Keys said. “I think especially that I’ve had a lot of matches this year where I wasn’t playing my best tennis, and I was in some bad spots, but being able to figure that out. I think that’s given me just a lot of personal confidence.”