Tennis News

The Asian swing is heating up, with nine of the WTA’s Top 10 players set to battle for precious ranking points at this week’s Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. We break down the opening day matchups here at wtatennis.com.

Sunday
First Round

[9] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #10) vs. Belinda Bencic (SUI #26)
Head-to-head: Bencic leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Bencic has lost eight of her last 11 matches.

After a long season that has seen her battle injuries to her back and wrist, 19-year-old Belinda Bencic is hoping to rediscover her winning ways in Asia this fall. Bencic’s plan to do so in Tokyo backfired when she was ousted by Caroline Wozniacki in three sets in her first match, and the draw gods haven’t been any kinder to the Swiss in China, as the world No. 26 is slated to face No. 9 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova here in Wuhan. Kuznetsova has had some very strong results this year, particularly on hard courts where she has won seven of her last eight against players ranked outside the Top 20. But Kuznetsova has not played since falling in the second round of the US Open to Caroline Wozniacki, and she was in very poor form last year at Wuhan when she won only one game in a lopsided loss to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Will the Russian be able to shake off the rust and rise to the Bencic challenge, or is it time for Bencic to get her game on track and notch another Top 10 win?

Pick: Kuznetsova in three

[13] Roberta Vinci (ITA #15) vs. Monica Puig (PUR #33)
Head-to-head: Vinci leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Puig has won 11 of her last 14 hardcourt matches.

Olympic Gold medalist Monica Puig suffered a Rio letdown at the US Open when she was knocked off in the first round by China’s Saisai Zheng, but Puig hit the ground running in Tokyo last week, proving that her Rio heroics were no fluke. The 22-year-old took out Petra Kvitova for the second consecutive time to reach the Toray Pan Pacific Open quarterfinals, stretching her win streak against the Top 20 to six, before falling to Agnieszka Radwanska. The unseeded Puerto Rican will look to keep the positive vibrations going when she meets Italy’s Roberta Vinci for the second time with a spot in the second round on the line. Both players know their way around a hard court, but stylistically they couldn’t be more different. Puig attacks with relentless, percussive topspin, while Vinci switches up the beat to produce an off-kilter and often times maddening amount of slice. It was Vinci that prevailed in the pair’s only previous meeting on the clay of Madrid last season. Can Puig, buoyed by her newfound confidence, power past the Italian in Wuhan?

Pick: Puig in three

[WC] Sabine Lisicki (GER #113) vs. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS #39)
Head-to-head: Makarova leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Lisicki is 2-10 against Top 50 competition in 2016.

A pair of former Top 15 players who have been off their game in 2016 will do battle in the final match of the day on Centre Court on Sunday in Wuhan. It’s been a tough year for Sabine Lisicki, but the German is hoping that she can build some momentum down the stretch after reaching the quarterfinals at Guangzhou last week. Lisicki reached her second quarterfinal of the season, winning twice in straight sets before falling to Jelena Jankovic. The Grand Slam season may be over for Lisicki, but there’s still a lot to play for. The 27-year-old German, outside of the Top 100 for the first time in over five years, will look to make up points this autumn as she did not play after the U.S Open in 2015 due to a knee injury. Lisicki is making her second appearance at Wuhan and owns a 13-18 record on the season. Former world No. 8 Makarova has had mixed results this year as well, but she has managed four quarterfinals and a 23-18 tour-level record.

Pick: Makarova in two

By the Numbers:
19 – Bencic is the youngest player in this week’s draw at Wuhan. The Swiss will turn 20 next March.
8 – Number of American players in this week’s draw in Wuhan. Three (Louisa Chirico, Varvara Lepchenko and Shelby Rogers) will be in action on Sunday.
2 – Former champions in the draw. Venus Williams (2015) and Petra Kvitova (2014) won the first two stagings of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.

MELBOURNE, Australia – For the first time in eight years, there will be two Williamses in a major final. One was expected. The other wasn’t even sure she’d be able to get past the first round.

The first time Serena Williams and Venus Williams faced off on tour was here, in Melbourne in the second round of the 1998 Australian Open. That was 19 years ago. Venus won that day, 7-6(4), 6-1, but that match would kickstart a 27-match rivalry that would define both of their careers. On Saturday they will face off for the first time since the 2015 US Open quarterfinals, and it’s a match that few ever thought they’d see again in a major final.

“This probably is the moment of our careers so far,” Serena said, after her 50 minute win over Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the semifinals. “For me, I can definitely say for me. I never lost hope of us being able to play each other in a final.”

Serena has now made seven finals in her last 10 majors, and she’s a win away from breaking Stefanie Graf’s record of 22 major titles and returning to No.1. The World No.2 has not dropped a set all tournament and has navigated a difficult draw with ease. Gone are the signs of stress and anxiety that seemed to plague her at the Slams the last year.

“I think just going through that made me this way now, to be honest,” Serena said of her new relaxed attitude. “I think sometimes when you’re stressed out, you have to go through those moments. Everything creates a better you.”

“This opponent is your sister and she's super awesome so it's wonderful.” -#Venus on #Serena#AORadio #AusOpenhttps://t.co/czVY4Irm1c

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2017

So while Serena’s presence in Saturday’s final was to be expected – she is, after all, a six-time champion at Melbourne Park – big sister Venus has been the surprise. Earlier in the tournament, the seven-time major champion admitted that she was anxious before the start of the Australian Open given injury concerns. In her first tournament of the season at the ASB Classic, she was forced to withdraw after the first round due to right arm pain.

“I mean, honestly, all the signs didn’t look that way in Auckland,” Venus said of her successful run. “Of course, I dreamed of it because I definitely worked hard in the off-season. It was not a great start, I’ll just say that.

“But still I know I can play. You just have to try to figure it out if you can get it to line up all at the same time. That’s why you get out and you try. As long as you continue to try, you have an opportunity. That’s why I’m here.”

To make her first Australian Open final in 14 years, Venus had to dig deep to fend off the overwhelming firepower from CoCo Vandeweghe. In blasting winner after winner in the first set, the younger American was able to bully Venus around the court with her heavy hitting. Venus couldn’t stand toe-to-toe, power for power. And so she adjusted. She dug in. And used her brain and her speed to unwind Vandeweghe, who was playing in the biggest match of her young career.

“I would love more than anything to see her across the net from me on Saturday.” #Venus on possibly facing #Serena in the final #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/LBgBcTPqBq

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2017

“It felt very weird because I never do that,” Venus said, referring to her defense. “Also, at the same time, I’m versatile. I can adjust. I can do what I need to do to win a match. I feel comfortable when I’m uncomfortable at the same time. Even if I’m in a position where I don’t want to be at, it’s not going to throw me off.

“I want to dictate, but the way she was playing, it was almost impossible to do so. So it was just about trying to control the point in whichever way that was. If that meant that defensively I controlled the point, or I was able to get a little offense, whatever it was. I mean, just be the one winning the point at the end somehow.”

.@Venuseswilliams is through to the women's final #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/3Jdo8Zlag9

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2017

Indeed, after trying to outblast Vandeweghe in the first set, Venus began to go for less on her shots, using width and depth to get Vandeweghe uncomfortable. She cleaned up her errors. And most importantly, she had her best serving day of the tournament. Venus smartly handcuffed Vandeweghe with well-timed body-serves, and after seeing her second serve attacked in the first set, she decided to step it up.

“In the first set I served more conservatively,” Venus said. “In the second, I just decided I was going to go for more. It was just really a mentality at that point. I know she’s looking for a second serve. It’s important to try not to give your opponent what they want.

“As the match went longer, the bigger I went on the second. Thankfully I was comfortable doing that and executing it and just going in. It worked.”

In the end, the match was far more tense than the 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-3 scoreline might indicate. Vandeweghe earned 13 break points but was only able to convert once.

Venus’ reaction on match point will go down as one of the most memorable, joyous, and redempting displays for the ages. One can only imagine what was flashing in her mind as the reality set in, that she was, for the first time since she was diagnosed with Sjögren’s syndrome, back into a major final.

.@Venuseswilliams is through to the women's final #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/3Jdo8Zlag9

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2017

“I think why people love sport so much, is because you see everything in a line,” Venus said. “In that moment there is no do-over, there’s no retake, there is no voice-over. It’s triumph and disaster witnessed in real-time. This is why people live and die for sport, because you can’t fake it. You can’t. It’s either you do it or you don’t.

“People relate to the champion. They also relate to the person also who didn’t win because we all have those moments in our life.”

Venus’s ebullient celebration could serve as a Rohrschach test for any tennis fan. Do you see the 36-year-old champion, a woman who burst on the scene as a teenager over 20 years ago, showing her tenacity and quality to make a Slam final almost 20 years after making her first at the 1997 US Open?

Or do you see the player who fell out of the Top 100 after being diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder in 2011, who had every right to walk away from the game to pursue her other worldly pursuits, but battled back up to the top of the game by, seemingly, sheer force of will?

“For us both to be in the final is the biggest dream come true for us.” #Serena on playing #Venus in the final #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/C8aSHSsxE0

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2017

“I was always stressed out and worried if she would be okay and be able to play,” Serena said. “I would see her practice, she’d practice so well, do so well. I always felt like when she lost, I was almost surprised, kind of like, How did you lose, because you’re doing so well.

“At the same time I was like, Wow, it’s amazing that you’re even out here. I just really feel fortunate to have been there for the highs and the lows and everything.”

Serena is the favorite heading into the final. As Venus said, her younger sister doesn’t have many weaknesses to her game. While the match-up may look awkward from the outside — No.23 and the No.1 ranking on the line and you have to go through…your own sister? — Serena and Venus shrug it off. They’ve gone through this dance too many times to be distracted by the emotional resonance of their matches, whatever the stakes may be.

SERENA.

VENUS.

THE DREAM.#ausopen pic.twitter.com/zWfxtgxvzn

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2017

“After everything that Venus has been through with her illness and stuff, I just can’t help but feel like it’s a win-win situation for me,” Serena said. “I was there for the whole time. We lived together. I know what she went through. It’s the one time that I really genuinely feel like no matter what happens, I can’t lose, she can’t lose. It’s going to be a great situation.”

For Venus, it’s just about the tennis. “When I’m playing on the court with her, I think I’m playing, like, the best competitor in the game,” Venus said. “I don’t think I’m chump change either. I can compete against any odds. No matter what, I get out there and I compete.

“So it’s like two players who really, really can compete, then also they can play tennis. Then, okay, won’t be an easy match. It’s like I know that it won’t be easy. You have to control yourself, then you also have to hopefully put your opponent in a box. This opponent is your sister, and she’s super awesome.

“It’s wonderful.”

After reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open, American CoCo Vandeweghe stopped by SportsNation to tell all about her breakout run in Melbourne.

Chatting with a round table that includes ESPN tennis analyst LZ Granderson, Vandeweghe discussed how she deals with mid-match frustrations – typically with a crack of a racquet – and how her on-court coordination doesn’t always translate off the court.

Plus, who inspired the 25-year-old to do the dab after defeating World No.1 Angelique Kerber Down Under?

Check out the full video right here on wtatennis.com!

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Kristina Mladenovic continued her stunning run at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy with another shock victory, this time in the quarterfinal over the reigning champion, Roberta Vinci, 6-1 6-4.

The unseeded world No.51 continued with the approach that had seen off Venus Williams in the surprise of the second round. She tore into the 33-year-old’s serve in the first set, winning all three of the Italian’s service games. Facing set point at 30-40 in the final game, Vinci produced a wonderful drop shot down the line from deep in the court to take it to deuce, but Mladenovic was undeterred and came through for a 6-1 win.

A rocket of a return from @KikiMladenovic! @Formula_TX pic.twitter.com/2eXZkScAly

— WTA (@WTA) February 3, 2017

Vinci, facing Mladenovic for the first time since the 2015 US Open, faced break point once again at the start of the second set. This time, though, she proved more resilient and held for the first time in the match.

“Roberta is a big fighter,” said the 23-year-old of a more even second set, “and she is very smart on the court. She tried different tactics and almost turned it around in the second set. I’m happy I stayed calm and all the time responded with a game plan as well.”

The second serve increasingly proved key. Mladenovic won 50% of the points behind hers in contrast to 25% for Vinci and, although the French player served three double faults to her opponents’ one, it was that one that was crucial. A double fault from Vinci at 30-40 and 4-4 in the set gave the underdog the chance to serve for a meeting with Russia’s Natalia Vikhlyantseva in the last four.

Wonderfully delicate touch from @Roberta_Vinci! ? pic.twitter.com/LU8a5BBLaR

— WTA (@WTA) February 3, 2017

Mladenovic grew more aggressive, coming forward more with the win in sight. Serving at 5-4 she rushed too quickly to the net and gave up three break points. However she showed great composure to save all three. In a tense finale, the pair went to deuce four times before, at the third time of asking, Mladenovic converted match point with a top-spin heavy cross-court winner to qualify for her third career Premier semifinal.

“We played against each other last year in Hertogenbosch on grass and I won in three sets,” she said of Vikhlyantseva. “I discovered this young lady there for the first time and I thought she had an amazing great quality and game and potential for the future. I’m not surprised at her improvement and her ranking climbing up.”

Meanwhile the defeated champion said: “It was a difficult match, a tough match. Kiki played incredible tennis first set. In the second set I started to play much better than in the first – a bit more aggressive – I had some chances to break her, but she played too good. I played so so – this is tennis! I’m happy I managed to make it back to the quarter-final.”