Singapore: Radwanska Interview
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her round-robin win at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her round-robin win at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
A blockbuster quarterfinal between former Grand Slam and Roland Garros champions headlines an enticing slate of quarterfinals in Rome on Friday. We preview the matchups right here at wtatennis.com.
Friday, Quarterfinals
[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. [9] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #19)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 8-3
Key Stat: Williams has won 72 of her last 76 matches on clay.
Less than two months ago Svetlana Kuznetsova sent Serena Williams tumbling from the Miami draw in stunning fashion, winning 12 of the final 15 games to notch her seventh career victory over a reigning World No.1. That victory snapped Williams’ 20-match winning streak at Miami and put Kuznetsova into the quarterfinals at Key Biscayne for the first time since 2009. Here in Rome, Kuznetsova will try to do the unthinkable again. But three-time champion Williams, who owns a 13-match winning streak at Rome, is looking forward to the challenge of trying to make it 14 against one of the game’s hottest players. “I think right now she’s probably one of the best clay-court players,” Williams said of Kuznetsova on Thursday. “I couldn’t ask for a better match going into Roland Garros, so this is a big opportunity for me, win or lose, to see where I am.”
Pick: Williams in three
[3] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #4) vs. [11] Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #10)
Head-to-head: Muguruza leads, 3-0
Key Stat: Muguruza has lost just six games in two rounds in Rome.
Is Garbiñe Muguruza ready to put aside her early season frustrations and break out in a big way on the red clay of Rome? She’s been turning heads with lopsided victories in the last two days over Ekaterina Makarova and Jelena Ostapenko, and even the 22-year-old Spaniard has been impressed with her level of execution in Rome. “I’m thinking everything I tried, everything I did, was working,” Muguruza said after her second-round win on Wednesday. Things have been working pretty well for Timea Bacsinszky as well. The Swiss has won 15 of her last 17 on clay and she battled past last year’s runner-up Carla Suárez Navarro in three sets on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals. Bacsinszky likes to dirty it up and frustrate her opponents with death-defying defense, changes of pace and a wicked backhand. To keep rolling, Muguruza will have to patiently deal with those tactics, paint the lines and look to close at net.
Pick: Muguruza in three
Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU #35) vs. Misaki Doi (JPN #45)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Doi is the lowest-ranked quarterfinalist in Rome.
With three quarterfinals on her last four clay events, Irina-Camelia Begu is starting to look more and more like a Roland Garros dark horse every day. The 25-year-old Romanian has secured Top 10 wins in back-to-back weeks on the European clay, taking out Garbiñe Muguruza in Madrid and Victoria Azarenka in the second round here in Rome. On Friday she’ll face the week’s biggest surprise in Japan’s Misaki Doi. Japan’s No.1 had lost seven straight tour-level matches heading into Rome, but after three consecutive wins (including the two best wins of her career on the dirt rankings-wise) she has earned the best clay-court result of her career. Can she keep the dream alive against Begu or will it be the surging Romanian who moves on to the semis?
Pick: Begu in two
Madison Keys (USA #19) vs. Barbora Strycova (CZE #36)
Head-to-head: Tied, 1-1
Key Stat: Both Keys and Strycova have reached their first quarterfinal at Rome.
One immensely talented youngster is questing to live up to the hype in Rome, while a cagey veteran is playing some of her best clay-court tennis to date. Madison Keys and Barbora Strycova have each managed to play some scintillating tennis at the Foro Italico, and as a result they’ll meet for the second time in as many weeks with a spot in the semifinals on the line. 21-year-old Keys, who is in the early days of her relationship with new coach Thomas Hogstedt, defeated Strycova in straight sets last week in Madrid, and the pair have split their two previous meetings to date. Strycova, not known for her clay prowess, notched her first Top 5 win on the surface last week against Angelique Kerber and has not dropped a set thus far in Rome. Opportunity knocks for both Keys and Strycova in the Eternal City – who will answer the bell?
Pick: Keys in three
-Chris Oddo, wtatennis.com contributor
Dominika Cibulkova turned in a brilliant performance to upset World No.1 Angelique Kerber and claim her first ever WTA Finals title
All four semifinalists at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia are rounding into form at just the right time. But who will be the one to sign-off ahead of Roland Garros with the silverware.
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her semifinal loss at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
ROME, Italy – Serena Williams returned to the final of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia after a comfortable victory over the unseeded Irina-Camelia Begu on Saturday.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Rome right here on wtatennis.com!
The Foro Italico has historically been a happy hunting ground for Williams, who has reached the semifinals or better on eight occasions. Three times she has gone on to lift the trophy at the famous old venue, and judging by her performances this week she is in the mood to add to this tally.
Following on from the World No.1’s awe-inspiring display against Svetlana Kuznetsova on Friday evening, few gave Begu much hope of springing an upset. However, the Romanian has been enjoying a fine clay court season and acquitted herself well early on, recovering from an early break to draw level at 4-4.
Unfortunately for Begu, this was as good as it got. Two games later, a sequence of smart returns gave Williams the set and from there she rarely looked like being caught, wrapping up victory after an hour and 26 minutes by ghosting in to punch away a smart volley.
Standing between Williams and her 70th WTA title is fellow American Madison Keys. Earlier in the day Keys maintained her composure after a lengthy rain delay to defeat No.3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, 7-6(5), 6-4.
Since losing to her sister Venus at Montréal in 2014, Williams has won 15 straight matches against Americans. Her match against Keys will be the first all-American final at the Foro in 46 years.
“I think it will be wonderful because, like I said last time I was in here, I feel like Madison is one of the players that really can be great and she has that potential, and now she’s showing that on all surfaces,” Williams said.
“You know, we’re an all-American final on the clay. It’s been a minute since that’s happened. That’s just – it’s great. It’s really exciting.”
SINGAPORE – Following two contrasting semifinals, Angelique Kerber and Dominika Cibulkova will renew acquaintances with the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global on the line. Here are 10 of SAP’s finest facts ahead of Sunday’s showdown.
(1) Angelique Kerber (GER #1) vs (7) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK #8)
Head-To-Head: tied 4-4
1) Familiar foes.
Cibulkova held the early edge in their clashes, racking up four wins over Kerber between 2009 and 2013. However, since then Kerber has edged ahead thanks to five straight victories, the latest of which came in an absorbing round-robin encounter earlier this week.
Since the introduction of the round-robin format in 2003, this is the sixth time players have locked horns twice at the same WTA Finals. The most recent occasion came in 2014, when Simona Halep defeated Serena Williams in the Red Group only to lose their final rematch four days later.
2) Mixed record in finals.
For all Kerber’s success in recent years, she still has a mixed record in finals. Although the German has broken the final hoodoo she suffered earlier in her career – between June 2012 and August 2014 she lost eight of nine – her overall win-loss record stands at 10-14. Cibulkova, too, has a history of near misses, winning only seven of the 17 she has contested
3) Can Cibulkova follow in Radwanska’s footsteps?
Cibulkova’s only win during the round robin came against Halep, after earlier losses to Kerber and Madison Keys. Since the WTA Finals switched format in 2003, only Agnieszka Radwanska in 2015 has gone 1-2 in the round-robin stage and lifted the title.
Rankings Watch: @cibulkova moves up to No.6, could go up to No.5 if she wins @WTAFinalsSG. Kuznetsova at No.9. https://t.co/jwopr3sSW6
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) October 29, 2016
4) Cibulkova’s ranking on the rise.
The year-end Top 4 is already confirmed – Kerber, Serena, Agnieszka Radwanska and Halep. But No.5 will be Cibulkova’s should she collect the title. Even if she fails to do so, by reaching the final she is guaranteed to rise to a career-high No.6.
5) Can Cibulkova make her big breakthrough?
This year, Kerber has joined the Grand Slam winner’s club thanks to victories at the Australian and US Opens. For all her career accomplishments, Cibulkova’s biggest titles have all come at the next rung down: the Premier events in Moscow (2011), Carlsbad (2012), Stanford (2012) and Eastbourne (2016). She has come close to breaking through this ceiling, though, reaching Grand Slam (Australian Open, 2014), Premier Mandatory (Madrid, 2016) and Premier 5 (Montréal, 2008, Wuhan 2016) finals.
6) Kerber’s annual earnings will surpass $10 million.
By reaching the final, Kerber will become the second player in WTA history (after Serena in 2013 and 2015) to surpass $10 million prize money in a single season. Cibulkova, meanwhile, can take her career earnings past the $10 million mark with victory in the championship match.
7) Cibulkova the comeback queen.
There were a number of false dawns for Cibulkova following her return from a serious Achilles injury last year. This March in Katowice she finally returned to the winner’s circle, and followed this up with a maiden Premier Mandatory final, in Madrid, and then further silverware, in Eastbourne and then Linz. Her Singapore heroics have taken her 2016 win tally to 52 – a number only bettered by Kerber (63).
8) Best returner in the business.
Kerber’s success this year has been built on her superb return game. In the semifinal against Radwanska she broke serve seven times, winning 37 of 61 points on return. She has now broken 21 times in her four matches this week.
9) The magnificent seven.
Kerber is the 19th player to win all three round-robin matches. Seven of those 19 went on to lift the title – Kim Clijsters (2003), Justine Henin (2007), Venus Williams (2008), Serena (2009, 2012, 2013), and Petra Kvitova (2011).
10) The exclusive leftie club.
Kerber is attempting to become just the fifth left-hander to win the title. The other four were Martina Navratilova (1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1986*), Sylvia Hanika (1982), Monica Seles (1990, 1991, 1992) and Kvitova (2011).
* In 1986, the WTA Finals were held twice, in March and November
ROME, Italy – Serena Williams emerged victorious in the first all-American final since 2012 – the first on red clay since 2002 – defeating countrywoman Madison Keys, 7-6(5), 6-3, to snap a nine-month title drought and win the Internazionali BNL d’Italia for the fourth time in her illustrious career.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Rome right here on wtatennis.com!
“I feel like it was important for me to just go out there like usual,” she said in her post-match press conference. “It’s a totally new match, it’s a different week, you know, and hopefully just win one. If not, hope for next time, next week.”
Playing in her third final of 2016, Williams had spent the season in search of her first title since the Western & Southern Open last summer, and was the heavy favorite to break that duck against Keys, who was playing the biggest final of her career on what had hitherto been her least favorite surface.
“I think no matter how many times you play Serena, you always go in and you can just feel her presence,” Keys said after the match. “That’s always an extra thing that you have to be worried about during the match.
“But for me today it really wasn’t so much about how big the tournament was or anything like that. It was really just wanting to go out and do my best and give my best performance.”
None of that seemed to matter from the outset as Keys unlocked the early break, leading 3-1 in the first set. Williams steadied from there, winning the next three games and later grabbing the opening set in a tie-break.
“I think she’s such a powerful player,” Williams said, backing up her praise of Keys at net, when she predicted her opponent could be a future World No.1. “Obviously going in, I knew that, but I was just trying. I think I was pretty much able to just get back what I could, you know, and that’s all I was trying to do was just to go out there and be consistent, and, yeah, make my shots.”
Serving for the match in the second, there would be one final momentum shift as the 21-time Grand Slam champion was broken one game from the win, but the break was swiftly repaid in kind and Williams was the winner of a 70th career title – the fifth woman to achieve such a total in singles after Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, and Margaret Court. In all, she hit four fewer winners than Keys (13 to 17), but also eight fewer errors (24 to 32), and converted all but one of her six break point chances to seal the match in just under 90 minutes.
“I'm so proud of you. You can get to World No.1.”@SerenaWilliams to @Madison_Keys #ibi16 pic.twitter.com/LA7lzmOcC3
— WTA (@WTA) May 15, 2016
Missing the Mutua Madrid Open due to illness, Williams was playing her first red clay event of the season; the win in Rome sets her up in good stead to defend her French Open title as she attempts to win her fourth crown there, as well.
“I have tried to defend there once, twice, three times before. Didn’t quite work so well. But this year is different. I’m going to definitely go in there and I feel more calm and I don’t feel stress to, like, have to win. You know, I feel like I just am happy to be out here.”
For Keys, it was a breakthrough run; recently pairing with new coach Thomas Hogstedt, the 21-year-old is set to re-enter the Top 20 at No.17 – not too far from her career-high of No.16.
“I think having a couple of Top 10 wins this week was really big for me and playing people who have done very well in Roland Garros and just on clay in general. But I think the biggest thing is just how calm I have stayed on court and really, even in tough situations, stayed calm and collected and just really focused on my game, and I feel like I’m just playing much smarter tennis.”
INCREDIBLE court coverage @SerenaWilliams! ? #ibi16 https://t.co/aOYNs2ggSI
— WTA (@WTA) May 15, 2016
Highlights from semifinal action at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Serena Williams’ fourth Internazionali BNL d’Italia title provided an emphatic riposte to any doubting Thomases heading into the defense of her French Open crown
A series of sure-footed showings on the clay, particularly a semifinal dismantling of Svetlana Kuznetsova, underlined her status as the woman to beat at the year’s second major. The 900 points collected from her week in the Eternal City also saw Williams leapfrog Agnieszka Radwanska into third place on the Road To Singapore leaderboard.
By her own very high standards, Williams arrived in Rome on the back of a disappointing start to 2016, failing to collect silverware from her outings in Melbourne, Indian Wells or Miami. Nevertheless, she remained in the thick of the hunt for a place at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, a position she has consolidated with her 70th career title.
The American, a five-time WTA Finals winner, is now within striking distance of the leaderboard’s early pacesetters, Angelique Kerber and Victoria Azarenka, and with 2,000 points up for grabs in Paris, there is remains the likelihood for further shuffling at the top of the pack.
Last week also provided the platform for a couple of other players to lay claim to a place in Singapore. The aforementioned Kuznetsova built on her Miami run with another encouraging showing that promoted her to the No.7 spot on the leaderboard, while Timea Bacsinszky’s is up to No.10 after reaching the quarterfinals
The week’s biggest mover, though, was eventual runner-up Madison Keys, whose wins over Petra Kvitova and Garbiñe Muguruza helped propel her from No.38 to No.12.
RTS Ranking Movers
Madison Keys: No.38 to No.12 (+26)
Irina-Camelia Begu: No.52 to No.26 (+26)
Misaki Doi: No.54 to No.35 (+19)
Garbiñe Muguruza: No.35 to No.17 (+18)
Click here to see the full Road To Singapore leaderboard standings heading into Paris.
