Tennis News

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova backed up their upset over No.1 seeded team in the last round with another victory, coming back from a set down to oust the Canadian team of Eugenie Bouchard and Gabriela Dabrowski 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4 at the Olympic tennis event.

Strycova and Safarova are a regular pairing when playing doubles in Fed Cup, and once again their games clicked together for the Czech Republic as they took on Bouchard and Dabrowski in the second round.

Fresh off of pulling off a straight-sets stunner against three-time doubles gold medalists Serena Williams and Venus Williams, the Czech duo had more trouble getting past the Canadians. The two teams traded breaks twice in the opening set to send it to a tiebreak, where Dabrowski’s monumental effort at the net gave them the edge. But the Czechs recovered from the early deficit and broke twice to take the second set and even up the score.

After trading breaks once more to start off the final set, Safarova and Strycova earned the decisive one for a 4-3 lead and consolidated after a fierce battle. They marched into the quarterfinals after a two-hour and 11 minute encounter.

More to come…

Serena Williams

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.1
Year-End Ranking: No.2
Season Highlights: Title at Rome, Wimbledon
Best Major Result: Winner (Wimbledon), RU (Australian Open, Roland Garros)

2 Days left until the 2017 #WTA season! pic.twitter.com/rDUVjeUZHg

— WTA (@WTA) December 30, 2016

2017 Outlook

Serena Williams ended 2016 by reaching a major milestone. Will happiness off the court help the 35-year-old achieve more records on it?

On Wimbledon’s hallowed lawns, Serena drew level with Steffi Graf’s long-standing Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam victories. It was an emotional occasion and one that proved to be the highlight of an injury-affected campaign. “Wimbledon was good for me,” she told BeIN Sports during the off-season. “Obviously, I was really excited to win that this year. I had a lot of tough matches, but I went in there and played the best I could.”

At two of the season’s other showpiece events, Williams found herself in the unusual position of giving runner-up speeches, after losing out to Angelique Kerber and Garbiñe Muguruza at the Australian and French Opens.

The competitive fire still burns brightly, though, and despite the toll on her body, few would back against the American creating more history in 2017. And while she is hesitant to talk of numbers, there can be no doubting their significance.

“30 [major titles] is a lot, but my goal is just to go out there, do the best I can and be happy,” she said to BeIN. “The only way for me to do that is to win every single match; that doesn’t always happen and that’s something you have to understand and learn to deal with over the course of your career.”

The quest for the next begins in Auckland, where Williams will make her first appearance since a shock US Open semifinal defeat to Pliskova. After that, Melbourne, where history could well await.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – A pair of Olympic debutantes will try to knock off two experienced southpaws with the Gold medal match on the line. It’s semifinal time at the 2016 Olympic Games! Chris Oddo breaks down the match-ups for wtatennis.com.

Friday, Semifinals

Centre Court
[11] Petra Kvitova (CZE #14) vs. Monica Puig (PUR #34)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Puig is bidding to become the first Puerto Rican tennis player to win a medal at the Olympic Games.

Talk about making the most of an Olympic debut! Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig has dropped just 14 games en route to a semifinal appearance at Rio, and on the way the 22-year-old notched a career-best win in terms of ranking when she drubbed World No.4 Garbiñe Muguruza, 6-1, 6-1. Puig is riding an emotional high in Rio that she says is unlike any other. “It’s for my country, and I think nothing in the world can compare to that,” she told the Associated Press after defeating Germany’s Laura Siegemund in straight sets on Thursday. “It’s the most special feeling when you put on the colors of your country and you’re walking around the Olympic Village and everybody looks to see your country on the back of your shirt.” Puig will no doubt be inspired on Friday when she faces Petra Kvitova for a spot in the Gold medal round, but Kvitova is a woman who knows a thing or two about playing for national pride as well. The Czech has ably led her nation to four Fed Cup titles and she will look to add an Olympic medal to her fine international resumé when she faces Puig for the first time on Friday. Though it has been an up and down year for Kvitova, she has been in menacing form at Rio and looks primed to reassert herself as one of the dominant forces in tennis. Will Puig be able to ride the emotional wave past Kvitova, or will the legendary southpaw stay hot and break through to her first final of 2016?

Pick: Kvitova in three

[2] Angelique Kerber (GER #2) vs. [7] Madison Keys (USA #9)
Head-to-head: Kerber leads, 4-1
Key Stat: Keys has lost all three of her previous matches against Kerber on a hardcourt.

With Serena Williams out of the draw in Rio, No.2 seed Angelique Kerber has stepped in with confidence to book her spot in the last four, but she’ll have to pass her most difficult test of the Olympic Games if she is to reach the Gold medal match. Standing in Kerber’s way on Friday will be the daunting American Madison Keys, a player that has done nothing but impress since late spring. The 21-year-old has gone 25-4 since early May, playing finals in Rome and Montréal while winning the title in Birmingham. On Thursday she blitzed Russia’s Daria Kasatkina, finishing with 30 winners to just four for Kasatkina. Will Keys be able to achieve the same level of dominance against the fleet-footed, feisty Kerber? Unlikely, but Keys’ current form says that she is in this battle with a good chance to win. Though she has lost two in a row to the World No.2 she does own a win over Kerber and took the German to three sets in a wildly entertaining Charleston final in 2015. This semifinal promises to be a thrilling encounter of stylistic opposites. Kerber, the gritty, indefatigable counterpuncher, versus Keys, the scout’s dream with power to burn and a penchant for attacking. Who will emerge victorious?

Pick: Kerber in three

Around the grounds…
Women’s doubles will also be taking center stage on Friday in Rio as both semifinals are slated for Court No.2. The No.5 seeds, Martina Hingis and Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland, will face the No.6 Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic, while unseeded Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova square off with the seventh-seeded Russian pairing of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.

Former World No.2 Petra Kvitova announced on Monday morning that she and coach David Kotyza had ended their seven year partnership. Beginning at the start of the 2009 season, Kvitova began her meteoric rise up the rankings with Kotyza at the helm, winning two Wimbledon titles, and a WTA Finals trophy in 2011, the year in which she was one match from finishing at No.1 in the world.

WTA Insider spoke with Kotyza last fall during the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global; check out that interview here – the audio version can be found on the WTA Insider Podcast – and read Kvitova’s statement on Facebook below:

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – History is on the line in Rio on Saturday as Angelique Keber and Monica Puig chase Olympic gold. But before the two face off on Centre Court, here are 10 points to ponder…

 (2) Angelique Kerber (GER #2) vs Monica Puig (PUR #34)
Head-To-Head: Kerber leads Puig, 2-0

1) Kerber holds the head-to-head bragging rights.
The players’ two encounters on tour could not have been more different. Perhaps crucially on a psychological level, though, both have gone the German’s way. The first saw Kerber come within two points of defeat against a very green Puig three years ago in Brisbane, eventually prevailing on a third set tie-break. The second, last summer in Toronto, was rather more one-sided, Kerber dropping just five games against the young Puerto Rican.  

2) On top of their game.
Both Kerber and Puig have enjoyed campaigns to remember. After a slight lull following January’s memorable Australian Open triumph, Kerber has enjoyed a productive summer, reaching the Wimbledon final and winning 15 of her past 17 matches. Puig, meanwhile, has been quietly impressive all year long, reaching the biggest final of her career, in Sydney, the Eastbourne semifinals and posting a career-best 46 match wins.

3) Kerber holds a decided edge in big-match experience.
For all her recent improvement, Puig has still only ever appeared in two finals. Kerber, meanwhile, is becoming an old hand at the business end of tennis’ flagship events, having appeared in two major finals and lifted six Premier titles.

4) History in the making.
Puig has a chance to write her name in the history books as the first athlete in any sport from Puerto Rico to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games. As it is, she is already guaranteed to go down as the island’s first female medalist.

5) Kerber was eight months old the last time a German won Olympic gold.
If Kerber wins, she will be the first German woman to win Olympic tennis gold title since Steffi Graf in 1988. Graf returned to the final four years later only to lose out to an inspired Jennifer Capriati in Barcelona.

6) Consistency the Kerber’s key to success.
Kerber has improved as she has progressed in Rio, something born out in her increasingly stingy unforced error count. After hitting 31 in her first-round win over Mariana Duque-Mariño, Kerber’s totals for her subsequent matches were 19, 14, 11 and just eight against Madison Keys in the semifinals.

7) Ready for another upset?
Puig had only registered one win over a member of the Top 10 before arriving in Rio. This came against No.5 Sara Errani at Wimbledon in 2013. She doubled this tally thanks to her magnificent third-round upset of Garbiñe Muguruza. Is she ready to make it three?

8) Olympic outsider.
Puig is the first unseeded singles finalist since tennis’ reintroduction to the Olympics in 1988. The lowest-ranked player to appear in the gold medal match up until now was then-No.17 Elena Dementieva in 2000.

9) Kerber’s unblemished record.
Kerber has not dropped a set on her way to the final. London 2012 gold medalist Serena Williams is the only player to win the competition since without dropping a set since the sport’s reintroduction to the Olympics.

10) The exclusive leftie club.
By defeating Keys, Kerber ensured she will become just the second left-hander to win an Olympic singles medal since tennis’ return. The other was 2000 bronze medalist Monica Seles.

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