Makarova, Vesnina Topple Swiss For Gold
Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina pulled off an emphatic win over World Co-No.1 Martina Hingis and partner Timea Bacsinszky to win gold in women’s doubles.
Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina pulled off an emphatic win over World Co-No.1 Martina Hingis and partner Timea Bacsinszky to win gold in women’s doubles.
Victoria Azarenka will look to continue her torrid form down under on Day 10, but she’ll face her toughest test to date. We preview both quarterfinals from the lower half of the draw here.
Wednesday, Day 10
Quarterfinals
[7] Angelique Kerber (GER #6) vs. [14] Victoria Azarenka (BLR # 16)
Head-to-head: Azarenka leads, 6-0
Key Stat: Azarenka has conceded just 11 games in four rounds.
All signs in Melbourne point to Victoria Azarenka’s first trip to a Grand Slam semifinal since the 2013 US Open. One simply can’t deny that the Belarusian, a two-time champion here, has had a stiff wind in her sails since the season began. She’s reeled off her first 18 sets of 2016 and only once dropped more than three games in a set. Azarenka’s scintillating form and burgeoning confidence adds up to a very stiff challenge on Wednesday for No.7-seeded Angelique Kerber. The German will face Azarenka for the seventh time on Wednesday, and she’s hoping to reverse her fortune in what has been a very lopsided head-to-head up until now. But hope springs eternal for Kerber, who is playing with house money after saving a match point in her first-round match against Japan’s Misaki Doi. “I was actually with one leg on the plane back home, but I won the first match with the match point down,” Kerber said on Monday after reaching her first career Australian Open quarterfinal. “So, yeah, and then after I was playing much better. I’m feeling good, and right now I will try to take my next match and play again good tennis.”
It’s been all Azarenka on the scoreboard for these two thus far, but the No.14 seed does not for one second underestimate the danger of facing a perpetually engaged fighter like Kerber. And she surely remembers that Kerber pushed her to the brink in a thrilling three-set encounter at the US Open last September. “It’s exciting,” said Azarenka of the upcoming tussle. “I always look forward to play against her. She gives me always tough matches. I prepare myself for a very tough match because she’s very solid, very consistent, and an amazing fighter. I have to play my best game to beat her, for sure.”
Pick: Azarenka in three
Zhang Shuai (CHN #133) vs. Johanna Konta (GBR # 47)
Head-to-head: Tied, 1-1
Key Stat: Zhang is the first qualifier to reach the quarterfinals at the Australian Open since 1990.
Tear up your predictions, crack open your WTA media guides, and get ready for some crazy emotions, because Day 10’s second quarterfinal features a pair of relatively unknown talents who have already made history in Melbourne. Johanna Konta became Great Britain’s first Grand Slam quarterfinalist in 33 years when she defeated Ekaterina Makarova in the round of 16. Nowhere near the Top 100 at this time last year, Konta has reached the second week of the last two majors and is projected to reach the Top 30 if she reaches the semifinals. But standing in her way will be China’s suddenly surging Zhang Shuai. The 27-year-old was 0-14 at majors prior to qualifying for this year’s Australian Open, but she’s racked up four wins—including a first-round upset of No.2-seeded Simona Halep—to reach the quarterfinals. Can Zhang possibly keep this dream run going? Or is Konta’s ascension set to continue?
Buoyed by her improbable run, Zhang is starting to believe that a deeper run is her destiny. “This time feeling like maybe God will bless me,” an elated Zhang told reporters of her eight-year wait for Grand Slam success. “If I can wait for long time, eight years, I can one time win a lot of matches at a Grand Slam.” Though also thrilled with her recent rise, Konta is less surprised that her time has come. “I’ve always said I do not believe in kind of a light switch moment,” she told reporters. “Everything happens for a reason. My journey has been the way it has been for a reason. That’s to accumulate the experiences that I’ve had. I cannot give you a moment where I said, Oh, yeah, that’s where it started, because it’s been ongoing ever since I started playing.”
Pick: Konta in three
Serena Williams will look to maintain her perfect record in Australian Open semifinals, while Angelique Kerber will bid for a long awaited trip to her first major final on Thursday in Melbourne. It’s semifinal day Down Under, and here’s a preview of what’s on tap.
Thursday, Day 11
Semifinals
[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. [4] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL # 4)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 8-0
Key Stat: Radwanska comes into the semifinals riding a 13-match winning streak.
Agnieszka Radwanska enters Thursday’s semifinal with world No.1 Serena Williams as the WTA’s hottest player. She’s won 13 straight matches dating back to her title run at the WTA Finals last year, and the 26-year-old Pole is the only semifinalist to have already claimed a title this season. Even six-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams has been impressed by Radwanska’s form. “She’s been playing really well towards the end of the year, and already this year she’s been very consistent,” Williams said after reaching the semifinals with a straight-sets victory over Maria Sharapova on Tuesday. “She presents a completely different game, an extremely exciting game. So I think it will be a long match and it will be a good match to see where I am.”
Radwanska may be in scorching form, but nobody in Australian Open history has achieved more success than Williams from the semifinals on. The 21-time major champion has won the title all six times she’s reached the semifinals in Melbourne, and her overall career record in Grand Slam semifinals is an otherworldly 25-4. So what can Radwanska do to give herself a chance to create a stirring upset against arguably the greatest big match player of all time? It’s a question that many elite talents have pondered and failed to adequately answer. The matchup certainly favors Williams, who will look to take advantage of a huge power advantage by attacking the vulnerable second serve of Radwanska. The Pole will have to make first serves, and use her cleverness and variation to keep Williams from getting her rhythm. Any way you slice it it’s a tough ask for Radwanska, but her current form and the fact that she’s faced Williams in big matches before should help her in the tougher moments.
Pick: Williams in two
[7] Angelique Kerber (GER #6) vs. Johanna Konta (GBR #47)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Konta is Great Britain’s first Grand Slam semifinalist since 1983.
Great Britain’s Johanna Konta is celebrating her first appearance in the main draw of the Australian Open in style—with a trip to the semifinals. After taking down China’s Zhang Shuai in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, the Eastbourne resident has now won eight of her last nine Grand Slam matches. That in itself is impressive but when one takes into account the fact that Konta owned a career record of 1-7 in Grand Slam play before the streak started, it becomes evident just how vastly improved Konta has become in such a short time. A poised and cerebral player with weapons on both wings, Konta has risen 100 spots in the rankings since this time last year, thanks to an improved forehand and a newfound faith in her ability to tough out tight matches.
The opposite is true of Konta’s semifinal opponent, Germany’s Angelique Kerber. While Konta has been a rapid riser, Kerber has been a tried-and-true elite force on tour, and one who has been knocking on the door at Grand Slams ever since she had her breakout at the 2011 US Open. Kerber snapped a personal six-match losing streak to Victoria Azarenka on Day 10, playing courageous tennis and wreaking havoc on the speedy Belarusian with her flat, powerful backhand to clinch a spot in the last four at a major for the third time. Konta and Kerber have never met at the tour-level, but Konta has seen her share of the fit and ferocious Kerber and knows of the challenge that awaits. “She’s just an incredibly good player,” Konta said. “She’s an amazing competitor. She’s showed time and time again over the last numerous years. I’m going to go out there really enjoy it and enjoy the battle and hopefully play a good level and give the crowd a good match.”
Pick: Kerber in three
Monica Puig cemented her status as Puerto Rico’s favorite daughter by becoming her country’s first gold medalist in any sport on Satuday at the Olympic tennis event. Upsetting World No.2 Angelique Kerber in the final, Puig showed off the potential first exhibited back in early 2013, when she pushed the German to a third set tie-break at the Brisbane International.
Hear more from Puig as she adjusts to life after gold and how she hopes to take this Olympic sized achievement back onto the WTA circuit on this Dropshot edition of the WTA Insider Podcast:
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or on any podcast app of your choice to ensure you never miss an episode when they go live. Reviews are always helpful, so if you like what you’ve heard so far, leave us one. You can also get new episode alerts by following us on Twitter @WTA_Insider.
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MELBOURNE, Australia – Angelique Kerber was still riding the high of winning her first major title when I caught up with her on Sunday morning, less than 12 hours after her Australian Open triumph. On Saturday, Kerber became the first German to win a major since Steffi Graf in 1999, beating World No.1 Serena Williams 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to with the Australian Open.
En route to her Champion’s Photo Shoot in front of the Government House in Melbourne, Kerber spoke to WTA Insider about her whirlwind 24 hours and how her up-and-down career led her perfectly to this very moment.
WTA Insider: Angelique Kerber. 2016 Australian Open champion. Does it still sound weird to say it out loud?
Kerber: You know, it still sounds a little bit weird, but I think after a few hours, it’s still coming into my mind that I really won the title and won my first Grand Slam. Like I said, it’s a dream come true, and it sounds really nice.
WTA Insider: How was the water in the Yarra? Do you regret the decision to jump in and why did you decide to do it?
Kerber: Two weeks ago when we were walking along the river and talking a little bit about the Australian Open, about the last few weeks. We spoke about how Jim Courier did it once a lot of years ago. Then we decided, ok, let’s make a bet that if I reach the final and I win it after two weeks, we will go in the river.
At the end, it was nice, something different. I won the Australian Open and I love bets, so it’s something really special. You know, the river was really cold and a little bit dirty!
WTA Insider: That was the worry, that it might be a little dodgy.
Kerber: It was a little bit dirty but I was just trying to go for it and trying to keep my face above the river, so it was actually not so bad.
WTA Insider: Be honest: how many hours have you slept since last night?
Kerber: I told you I haven’t been sleeping. I came back at 4am to the hotel and then we decided to go for a drink at the bar. At 7 o’clock in the morning, I had my first interview again. There was no chance to sleep. But I know in a few hours I will on the plane, and I will for sure be sleeping the whole 24 hours.
WTA Insider: Yesterday, your phone was exploding. Players were congratulating you a lot on Twitter. The theme of the tweets was that this was a well deserved title for you. What do you think makes your win resonate in the locker room?
Kerber: It means a lot that there are people and champions or legends writing that I deserved it. I beat Serena in the final and it was an honor for me to play against her. To play against the best in the world and to win against her, because it was a great match and at the end I was going for it. It’s something really special that I won it at the end.
Everybody knows me, that I’m a really hard worker and this is why everybody told me or wrote I deserve it. It’s what I’m really proud of.
WTA Insider: You talked a lot this week about changing your mindset to be about trying to win matches as opposed to waiting for things to happen, for your opponent to miss and give it to you. That’s some nice symbolism for the last four years of career. You’ve said you were someone who has always struggled with self-belief. Why did you lack belief?
Kerber: I think I’m a person that needs a little bit of time. Of course, I believed in myself, but I had a lot of up and downs in my career where I was thinking, is this the right way? Could I reach my goals? But I had a great team around me always telling me that, ‘You’re a great player and you’re practicing and working so hard. One day you will deserve it.’ I was trusting my team more than myself.
I think in these two weeks, it changed a little bit when I won against Azarenka, and I felt, ‘Ok, I can believe in myself.’ This is actually the only way to win a Grand Slam. That was the change that I made in the last few days, to go for it and believe in myself and be aggressive and not hope that someone will give it to me. That was also the key to winning the Australian Open.
WTA Insider: Last year you played a lot of three set matches, classics in fact. But more often than not you were coming out on the losing side of them, especially at the big stages. Do you think some of those tough three-set losses set you up for this win?
Kerber: I think all of the tough losses, or the matches where I lost in three sets, were a way to reach the Grand Slam at the end. I had a lot of experience and I played so many great matches against top players. Some I won, some I lost. At the end, I was always playing good tennis.
It was always tough and three hour matches and everyone’s still playing good against me because they know they must play good to beat me. It was also something that I realized, that they have respect when playing against me. It was a process to really take the next step to win a grand slam. After four yeas in the Top 10, I made the next step and I won it at the end.
WTA Insider: When the on-court announcer said you would rise to World No.2 on Monday, you looked as surprised about that as you were about winning the title. Is that even weirder?
Kerber: It sounds crazy to be the No.2 player in the world. That’s my highest ranking and I’ve reached it at the end. It’s just something so special; I mean, the moment when they said I’d be No.2 on Monday, it’s a great feeling to reach my highest ranking in my career.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
CINCINNATI, OH, USA – No.15 seed Karolina Pliskova booked the first spot into the third round of the Western & Southern Open after a 6-4, 6-1 win over Jelena Ostapenko.
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Yesterday, the Latvian teenager produced a stunning comeback to advance against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, but she was unable to produce the same tennis a second time. Ostapenko’s troubles started well before she and Pliskova took to the court, though, as heavy weather conditions in Cincinnati delayed the match for over an hour and dark clouds loomed overhead.
But the dubious conditions only played into Pliskova’s advantage, as the court speed seemed tailor-made for her game.
“The conditions here are pretty fast, so it’s good for me for the serve, the return, and overall for my aggressive game,” Pliskova explained after the match. “So I’m really happy that it’s working. Really happy with the way I closed the match today.”
It took the Czech a few games to get going, with Ostapenko going up 40-0 and eventually breaking Pliskova’s first service game. Pliskova broke back immediately, and batted away a second opportunity for Ostapenko to keep the pair level. The faster surface allowed Pliskova to keep the points short, staying steady to allow Ostapenko to make the errors. The gambit worked and Pliskova broke again to take the first set 6-4.
Ostapenko seemed to crumple from there, being broken three more times as the Czech reeled off six games in a row to ease through after an hour and 12 minutes. Pliskova struck 20 winners to 19 unforced errors, while Ostapenko hit 16 and 26, respectively. Pliskova was also more consistent on the big points, taking five of the six break opportunities while Ostapenko converted just one of five.
“I’m really happy with my win today,” Pliskova said. “I think I played a pretty solid match. Even with the conditions today; we are waiting on the court and even before we went on the court it was raining as well.
“I’m just happy I made it and I’m through to the next round.”
She awaits the winner of t the winner of the second round match between lucky loser Misaki Doi and American wildcard Christina McHale.
Earlier in the day Alizé Cornet, Alison Riske, Timea Babos and Tsvetana Pironkova beat the rain to round out the last of the second round spots.
More to come…
Highlights from first-round action at the Western & Southern Open.
ATLANTA, GA, USA – Venus Williams and Eugenie Bouchard will play an exhibition match at the BB&T Atlanta Open, an ATP 250 event, which takes place on hard court in Atlantic Station on July 22-30. The two players will take to the court in the women’s exhibition evening session on Stadium Court on Sunday, July 23.
“Atlanta has such a rich sports and tennis tradition and it’s been over 10 years since I’ve had a chance to play a match there,” said Williams. “I’m looking forward to hopefully playing in front of a big crowd that is also an enthusiastic tennis audience.”
Williams and Bouchard have played twice before with the head-to-head currently tied at 1-1. The American won their first meeting on hard court at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in 2013 while the Canadian took victory in their most recent encounter, at the Volvo Car Open on clay at Charleston in 2014. Both matches were extended to three sets.
“It’s exciting having the great American champion Venus Williams make her first trip to Atlanta in almost 15 years. She’s an inspiration to tennis fans and players around the world,” said Tournament Director Eddie Gonzalez. “Genie Bouchard is the perfect opponent for Venus, and Atlanta tennis fans will enjoy the professional brand of women’s tennis.”
Tennis legend @Venuseswilliams to play @geniebouchard in exo at #BBTAtlantaOpen!
More: https://t.co/RgRLcMIjNT
?️ https://t.co/nf1e7dae07 pic.twitter.com/XB9DwwjPhh— BB&T Atlanta Open (@BBTatlantaopen) March 6, 2017
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia/KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan – The St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy and the Taiwan Open are new additions to the WTA Calendar, the former headlined by top seed Belinda Bencic and former No.1s Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki, while Venus Williams leads the field in the latter.
Bencic is coming off of her first career fourth round appearance at the Australian Open, and with few points to defend until the grass court season, the young Swiss Miss will be aiming to make the Top 10 debut that narrowly eluded her at the end of 2015.
Granted a first round bye, Bencic will face stiff opposition from the get-go, as she plays the winner of the first round encounter between Annika Beck – who also reached the fourth round in Melbourne, falling to eventual champion Angelique Kerber, or Lucie Hradecka. The high seed in her quarter is hometown favorite and No.5 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who has played well in Russia, having reach the final of the last two Kremlin Cup tournaments – winning in 2014.
A potential semifinal opponent for Bencic is No.3 seed Caroline Wozniacki, who took a late wildcard in the hopes of kick-starting her 2016 after a surprising first round loss in Australia. Things might not get much easier for the Dane, however, as she could face former Top 10 player Dominika Cibulkova in the second round. No.7 seed Kristina Mladenovic, currently playing Fed Cup in Marseille, is her projected quarterfinal opponent, should she get past either 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens or rising Russian Daria Kasatkina – who made a second straight Grand Slam third round in Melbourne.
No.2 seed Roberta Vinci and No.4 seed Ana Ivanovic flank the bottom half of the draw – Ivanovic could play another one of the young Russians, Margarita Gasparyan, in the second round – Gasparyan fell to World No.1 in the fourth round of the Australian Open – and is slated to face No.8 seed and Hobart International champion Alizé Cornet in the quarters. Vinci opens against either Jelena Ostapenko or Yanina Wickmayer, and could play No.6 seed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the last eight; Schmiedlova had an impressive summer swing in which she made her first career Premier quarterfinal at the Western & Southern Open as a qualifer.
Over in Taiwan, the elder of the Williams sisters has no first round bye in this 32-player draw, and opens against local wildcard Lee Pei-Chi. In an interesting quarters that features names to watch like Donna Vekic and Anastasija Sevastova – a former No.36 who made her return to tennis following a brief retirement at the start of 2015 – Williams could face fellow American and No.8 seed Alison Riske in the quarterfinals. No.3 seed Yulia Putintseva is also coming off a solid run at the Australian Open – beating Wozniacki en route to the third round – and is Williams’ projected semifinal opponent. The two played a rousing first round at Wimbledon last year, with the five-time champion coming out on top, 7-6(5), 6-4.
On the bottom half of the draw is the talented Japanesewoman, Misaki Doi, who held a match point against Kerber to start the Australian Open. Doi will open against Kristyna Pliskova, who hit a record number of aces in Melbourne, and could play No.7 seed and countrywoman Kurumi Nara in the quarterfinals.
It’s time to vote for February’s WTA Player of the Month!
Have a look at the nominees and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, March 10.
February 2017 WTA Player Of The Month Finalists
Kristina Mladenovic: The Frenchwoman’s star reached its highest peaks yet in February, kicking off the month with her maiden WTA title at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. Mladenovic ended February in another final, finishining runner-up at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel. In between, she scored her first Top 5 win of the season against Karolina Pliskova at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Karolina Pliskova: Speaking of Pliskova, the Czech powerhouse continued her winning ways, becoming the first woman to win multiple titles in 2017 at the Qatar Total Open, where she battled past Dominika Cibulkova and Carolina Pliskova and won four matches in three days.
Elina Svitolina: Svitolina built up an impressive, unbeaten, 13-match winning streak in February, winning her fifth and sixth WTA titles at the Taiwan Open and in Dubai to take home the biggest trophy of her career. The Ukrainian, 22, scored back-to-back wins over former WTA World No.1 Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki to break into the Top 10.
2017 Winners
January: Serena Williams
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com