Monterrey: CiCi Bellis's Shot Of The Day
Check out CiCi Bellis’s shot of the day from the Abierto GNP Seguros.
Check out CiCi Bellis’s shot of the day from the Abierto GNP Seguros.
Hear from Venus Williams before the start of the tournament.
Full Circle For Santina: Co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza paired up for the very first time at last year’s BNP Paribas Open, winning the event and prompting a 15-match winning streak through Miami and Charleston. The summer following their first Grand Slam victory at Wimbledon proved even more fruitful, taking Santina on a 41-match win streak that included nine titles and two more majors at the US Open and Australian Open.
That incredible run came to an end in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Total Open, three matches shy of tying the longest winning streak since 1990 – when Jana Novotna and Helena Sukova won 44 matches in a row – forcing Hingis and Mirza to celebrate their one year anniversary on a decidedly unexpected one-match losing streak.
Turning that around won’t be an easy ask for the best team in the world; in a jam-packed draw, Santina are set to play a first round against Casey Dellacqua – the current World No.4 who reached the US Open final with Yaroslava Shvedova – and former No.1 Samantha Stosur. Also in their section are Elena Vesnina and Daria Kasatkina, the very team who beat them in Doha.
But bear in mind: Hingis and Mirza haven’t done a whole lot of losing in the last 12 months; should they pass these early hurdles, they could easily catch fire once more and capture their fifth title of 2016.
Olympic Fever: Dellacqua/Stosur and Vesnina/Kasatkina aren’t the only mono-country pairings to form this season, as half of the Indian Wells doubles field is comprised of women playing with their compatriots.
Four of them – No.4 seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, No.7 seeds Garbiñe Muguruza and Carla Suárez Navarro, No.8 seeds Raquel Atawo (née Kops-Jones) and Abigail Spears, and No.2 seeds Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan – qualified for BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global just a few months ago.
The Czechs have the most experience under their belts, including two Grand Slams and an Olympic silver medal, while the Spaniards finished runner-up to Hingis and Mirza in Singapore, and the Americans played some of their best tennis in 2015. The Chan sisters were the story of the second half of the season, and reversed a slow start with back-to-back titles in Taiwan and Doha.
No.6 seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic were both in Singapore with other partners – Katarina Srebotnik and Timea Babos, respectively – but teamed up to start the season with the Olympics in mind. The two have already reached two finals in Sydney and Doha – beating the Chans and pushing Santina to a match tie-break in the former.
A trio of potential Olympic pairs remain unseeded and looming in the California desert. Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja came together on a more permanent basis last summer, and have been bastions of consistency throughout 2016. Making the semifinals or better at seven of their last eight events, the Spaniards – who open against Mladenovic and Garcia – swept the Central American swing with titles in Acapulco and Monterrey.
By contrast, wildcards Andrea Petkovic and reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber are playing just their second tournament together and will have to hit the ground running against the Chans, but they may yet build on their reputation as the “best worst team ever,” one that took them into the finals of the Brisbane International.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands has been in search of a consistent partner since injuries and illness felled partner and co-Australian and French Open champion, Lucie Safarova. The Czech is back in action at Indian Wells, but instead playing with Ekaterina Makarova – Vesnina’s former partner. Mattek-Sands began the year alongside Sabine Lisicki and Yaroslava Shvedova, but is revisiting a successful Fed Cup partnership with CoCo Vandeweghe; the Americans won their doubles rubber against Poland’s Paula Kania and Klaudia Jans-Ignacik in straight sets.
Equal and Opposite: With 2015 partners Dellacqua and Mladenovic chasing after Olympic glory, Shevedova and Babos have decided to team up for the time being. Babos had enjoyed success with Julia Goerges in the Middle East, but after opting out of her original arrangement with Katarina Srebotnik, the Hungarian youngster admitted it was tough to find a consistent partner at this point in the season.
“I still have big goals in doubles, and we had a goal with Kata,” she told WTA Insider in Monterrey, “But after two tournaments, we realized it wouldn’t be so easy to make it, and our games weren’t matching so well. After Australia, I tried to find someone who I could play with every week, but it’s not easy to find someone who is still free and can be a good partner when the season’s already started.”
Comeback Kids: Peng Shuai began her wade back into the competitive pool in Australia, playing doubles in her first tournaments since a back enjury ended her 2015 season at the French Open. Making her highly-anticipated singles return at the BNP Paribas Open, Peng is also reforming her most successful partnership by reuniting with Hsieh Su-Wei.
The former No.1s burst onto the scene nearly three years ago with wins at Wimbledon, the French Open, and the WTA Finals. Unseeded in the Mladenovic/Garcia section, Peng and Hsieh drew Sara Errani and Oksana Kalashnikova – Hsieh’s most recent partner. Errani is coming off of a solid Middle East Swing, reaching the finals of Doha with Suárez Navarro.
Elsewhere in the draw is Galina Voskoboeva, who made her WTA return at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in doubles with Anastasia Rodionova. Winning one match before losing in a valiant effort to Hobart International champions Christina McHale and Han Xinyun, Voskoboeva had been off the tour for almost two years and has solid history with the Aussie, reaching the semifinals of the Rogers Cup back in 2012. Their tournament begins with a first round encounter with Kasatkina and Vesnina.
Finally, Vania King is back at Indian Wells for the first time since 2014 – when she played, oddly enough, with Voskoboeva. Using her protected ranking, King is coming off of a run to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open with Alla Kudryavtseva, where they earned consecutive upsets over Shvedova and Stosur and Vesnina and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. In the Santina section of the draw, King and Kudryavtseva will play their first round against Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Barbora Strycova.
All photos courtesy of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy and Getty Images.
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Few can claim to be a more voracious reader than Andrea Petkovic, and the German sat down with Joel Drucker of Tennis Channel at the Volvo Car Open this week to put her skills to the ultimate test.
Petkovic, who is as much a Renaissance woman as she is a professional athlete, has a well-rounded range of interests that span from art and music to literature, which she called her escape in the sit-down with Drucker following her first round victory in Charleston.
“Some people escape with drugs and alcohol. For me, it’s literature,” the 29-year-old said.
The 2014 Volvo Car Open champion often gives followers and fans a glimpse into her eclectic world off the court on social media, whether it be by documenting visits to museums in her world travels, quoting Robert Frost on her Twitter account — or taking a book into the ice bath at the US Open.
Four of the German’s favorites authors — Ernest Hemingway, Saul Bellow, Friedrich Nietzsche and Leo Tolstoy — span generations and have few peers in the realm of literature, but just who would they be like if they picked up a racquet?
On Hemingway…
“He plays short points – really likes to go to net. Definitely would chip-charge. He’s tall, handsome – much like Patrick Rafter.”
On Bellow…
“He hits big, powerful shots – like Alexander Zverev. He’s a spectacular, hard-hitting player who loves the big sentence and brings lots of philosophical insight.”
On Nietzsche…
“He’s like Ivan Lendl. He’ll grind it out. He likes to suffer.”
On Tolstoy…
“A percentage player. He always plays the right shot – a baseliner, sort of like Caroline Wozniacki. Just a terrific all-around player.”
Stay tuned for part two from Tennis Channel, coming soon as the former World No.9 compares some of tennis’ greats, along with her peers and compatriots, to some of history’s best authors.
Caroline Garcia has Wednesday’s shot of the day at the Abierto GNP Seguros.
MONTERREY, Mexico – Top seed and World No.1 Angelique Kerber reached her fourth quarterfinal of 2017 on Thursday, closing out the night session and a big-hitting Mandy Minella, 6-1, 6-3 at the Abierto GNP Seguros.
“It was a good match from me,” she said after the match. “I played very well, and was able to play aggressively from the first point. I enjoyed the match tonight.”
Crafty lob from @AngeliqueKerber! ? pic.twitter.com/vCBZcBAeTc
— WTA (@WTA) April 7, 2017
Minella has enjoyed a stellar start to the season, reaching the semifinals at the Taiwan Open and earning an impressive win over Kristyna Pliskova at the Miami Open, but came up against a firing Kerber in Monterrey.
The German dropped just three points behind her first serve and didn’t face a break point all match, converting four of the eight she earned on the reigning Bol Open winner.
Kerber has slowly recovered from a tough first quarter, reaching the semifinals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and the quarterfinals in Miami, and is still looking for her first title of the year.
Up next for World No.1 is defending champion Heather Watson, who enjoyed a strong win over Ekaterina Makarova, 6-4, 6-1, earlier in the day.
Just too good from @AngeliqueKerber ? ? pic.twitter.com/My4Mjv1H4O
— WTA (@WTA) April 7, 2017
“I think it’ll be a good match; she won here last year and is the defending champion, so she knows the court and venue.
“I think I’ll have to play like today, play my game. I’m looking forward to playing against her.”
.@AngeliqueKerber races past Minella 6-1, 6-3!
Sets @Abierto_GNP Quarterfinal vs defending champ @HeatherWatson92! pic.twitter.com/hOrRPIwXRj
— WTA (@WTA) April 7, 2017
All photos courtesy of Abierto GNP Seguros.
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – If Caroline Wozniacki scores just one more victory at the Volvo Car Open and defeats World No.66 Jelena Ostapenko, she’ll be rewarded with more than just a spot in the Charleston semifinals: she’ll be projected to break back into the Top 10 when the new WTA rankings come out, a happy ending to what has been an absolute rollercoaster last few years.
Wozniacki got her first taste of the Top 10 back in 2009, and has been a mainstay at the top of the rankings for the majority of her career – including a stint at World No.1, a ranking she held for 67 weeks.
In fact, from 2009 to 2014 she finished each year inside the Top 10, and her six year run had been the WTA’s longest active streak.
But a struggle with injuries and recovery derailed the Dane’s progress, causing her ranking to plummet to as low as No.74 during the 2016 US Open.
It was during that US Open fortnight that Wozniacki’s comeback came together; she entered the tournament unseeded and went on to reach the semifinals, knocking out the likes of Svetlana Kuznetsova and Madison Keys along the way.
Once she got going, Wozniacki never looked back, and in the 14 events since her ranking dipped to No.74, she’s put together a stunning run which includes titles at the 2016 Toray Pan Pacific Open and the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, runner-up finishes at the 2017 Qatar Total Open, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and Miami Open, and a semifinal finish at the US Open.
She’s reached the quarterfinals or better at 11 of her last 14 events and now, by virtue of her incredible consistency, Wozniacki sits one win away from a return to her beloved Top 10 – the first time she’ll be there since September 21, 2015.
It won’t be easy with Latvian teenager Ostapenko standing in her way; Wozniacki lost in straight sets the only previous match they’ve played at last year’s Connecticut Open. And due to extreme weather conditions in Charleston, Wozniacki found herself having to double up and play two matches on the same day to reach the quarterfinals.
“I think I’m well-prepared for tomorrow,” Wozniacki said after her win against Anastasia Rodionova. “I got some clay tennis in today and feel like I’m just going to go out there and have fun and do my best and see how it goes.
“I’m just playing right now. I had one practice session before the tournament started for me, and that was it. I just kind of run on experience and try and figure it out.”
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – 19-year-old Jelena Ostapenko stunned No.11 seed Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in three sets to reach the final at the Volvo Car Open, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
With the victory Ostapenko is through to her third career final – and her first on clay – where he’ll face fellow-19-year-old Daria Kasatkina.
“It’s really nice to be in the third final, but first final on clay court, and especially here in Charleston,” Ostapenko told press after the match. “I’m really looking forward for tomorrow’s match.
“[Daria] kind of defensive player, and I think clay is her favorite surface, but I’m just going to try to stay consistent and be aggressive at the same time and just play my game.”
We're going three!
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni battles back to force a decider over Ostapenko 3-6, 7-5! #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/2g3oMKIpc5
— WTA (@WTA) 8 de abril de 2017
Just one point made the difference between Ostapenko and Lucic-Baroni during the tense, two-hour-and-seven-minute encounter. The Latvian employed her aggressive, fearless tennis against Lucic-Baroni, changing the direction in the ball and keeping her opponent on the run with her heavy groundstrokes.
Ostapenko was serving for the match at 5-4 in the second, but Lucic-Baroni had other ideas and the Croat put together a mammoth struggle to deny Ostapenko and break her serve.
Jelena Ostapenko edges Lucic-Baroni 6-3, 5-7, 6-4!
Sets All-Teen @VolvoCarOpen Final vs @DKasatkina! #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/ugpZVK2IAh
— WTA (@WTA) 8 de abril de 2017
She unleashed a barrage of winners against the Latvian, who had no response as Lucic-Baroni grabbed the next two games to take the match into a decider. But Ostapenko tamped down her nerves in the third and found her calm to make her way into her first final of 2017.
“I actually was quite emotional in the second set when I was 5-3 up and I couldn’t finish the set, but she liked when I was emotional,” Ostapenko admitted. “It kind of gave her confidence till then.
“In the third set I was just trying to be calm because I think it was tougher for her because I didn’t show any emotions, and it helped me, so I won the third set.”
TOKYO, Japan – Agnieszka Radwanska kickstarted last season’s Asian Swing with a win at the Toray Pan Pacific Open, taking the momentum all the way to Singapore to capture the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Seeded No.2 in Japan’s Premier event, Radwanska is hoping for a little bit of history repeating in Tokyo. Check out her thoughts on her bid to make a Singapore return in her pre-tournament interview.
Radwanska plays her opening round match on Wednesday night against Barbora Strycova.
2012 champion Lara Arruabarrena was taken to three sets by a determined Swiss qualifier in her first match at the Claro Open Colsanitas, but turned it around to move on in Bogota.