Eastbourne: Shot Of The Day (Saturday)
Dominika Cibulkova has Saturday’s shot of the day at the Aegon International Eastbourne.
Dominika Cibulkova has Saturday’s shot of the day at the Aegon International Eastbourne.
Kristina Mladenovic talks about the significance of winning the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Kristina Mladenovic talks through her win in the final of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
TALLINN, Estonia: Heather Watson soared to a straight-sets win to give Great Britain the best possible start in the Fed Cup opener against Portugal.
Under the watchful eye of new captain Anne Keothavong, Watson made an impressive start to her country’s campaign, beating Ines Murta 6-1, 6-1.
? Boom! @HeatherWatson92 gives Aegon GB @FedCup Team a 1-0 lead after beating Murta 6-1, 6-1 #BackTheBrits ??? pic.twitter.com/L3nkghe6QZ
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) February 8, 2017
The 2016 Wimbledon mixed doubles champion then assumed her role as “chief supporter”, ready to cheer on her teammates – first Johanna Konta in the singles, then Jocelyn Rae and Laura Robson in the doubles. “I’ll get the pom-poms, and the tambourines!” she joked.
A smiling @HeatherWatson92 ready to cheer on @JossRae91 & @laurarobson5 in the doubles! #BackTheBrits ?????? pic.twitter.com/zl53deFe9G
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) February 8, 2017
Her cheerleading obviously worked – Konta cruised through her singles rubber 6-2, 6-4 against Michelle Larcher de Brito, giving Great Britain an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie. It was good preparation for the British No.1, who will be seen in WTA Tour action next in Dubai from February 19.
Belinda Bencic is back into the second round of Wimbledon after a solid victory over Tsvetana Pironkova; Eugenie Bouchard also grabbed a win over Magdalena Rybarikova.
Shelby Rogers put a lyrical twist into the traditional Fed Cup rookie speech by performing her own version of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song.
It’s no surprise that the WTA Pre-Wimbledon Party presented by Dubai Duty Free is the biggest party in all of tennis. But what might surprise you is what Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki revealed when we caught up with them on the big night.
Who is a dedicated thrill-seeker and who has a huge sweet tooth? Find out in this party-themed episode of Dubai Duty Free: Full Of Surprises!
Victories from Ekaterina Makarova, Elina Svitolina and Francesca Schiavone headlined a dizzying opening day of Fed Cup action in World Group II.
Here’s how the ties stand after day one:
Russia 1 – 1 Chinese Taipei
Ekaterina Makarova found herself leading a group of young talented Russians this weekend, with two of her teammates making their Fed Cup debut and the average team age just 20 years old.
“It’s a totally different situation because every time I was playing I was one of the young players, even when I had a good ranking. But it was someone like Elena Vesnina in the team every time teaching me,” Makarova told FedCup.com before the tie.
“Now there are two girls who are debutants and it’s a good experience for me. We have a great atmosphere the girls are very nice. We’re looking forward to this weekend.”
The 28-year-old survived a scare to defeat Lee Ya-Hsuan 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 and put Russia ahead in front of a delighted Moscow crowd.
But Chang Kai-Chen put Chinese Taipei back on track, brushing away Fed Cup debutant Anna Blinkova, 6-3, 7-5.
Romania 0 – 2 Belgium
Hosts Romania were stunned on day one as Yanina Wickmayer and Kirsten Flipkens’ brace of victories put Belgium firmly in control of the tie.
Without Simona Halep and Irina-Camelia Begu, Romania struggled in singles as Flipkens dominated the opening rubber against Monica Niculescu, 6-3, 6-4.
“I knew I had to be patient and wait for the right moment to move forward,” Flipkens told press after the victory.
“It would have been a lot more difficult against Simona Halep as she is a top five player. Against Monica, I was confident going forward as I created my chances and took them when they came.”
Cirstea had a golden opportunity to rescue a point for her side, leading 5-2 in the opening set but Wickmayer came roaring back to edge through in a tight battle, 7-6(4), 5-7, 7-5.
Ukraine 2 – 0 Australia
The hosts Ukraine are in full control over Australia after Elina Svitolina and Lesia Tsurenko notched wins on day one.
Tsurenko opened proceedings with a comfortable win against Daria Gavrilova, easing past the Australian 6-2, 6-3.
“I’m very pleased with my game today,” Tsurenko explained to FedCup.com. “After the first games, the captain asked me to play deep. Don’t try to hit flat. That was the key. To play deep and wait for the right moment, and stay focused in the point whatever happened.”
Svitolina had a harder time against Barty, whose game made a mockery of her No.156 ranking as the Australian quickly took the opening set. Svitolina hit back just as strong, and finally tamped down the resistance to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
“I’m happy about today, although not about the score,” Barty said afterwards. “Elina is a tough player, with a lot of experience. She raised her level. The score of the second and third set doesn’t reflect how close the games where.”
Italy 1 -1 Slovakia
Fed Cup veteran Francesca Schiavone and Slovakian debutante Rebecca Sramkova left their countries level in Italy to close out day one.
At home and on clay, Schiavone fought past Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova 6-3, 6-1 to give Italy an early lead.
“I have to speak with my body, it’s not easy to handle three hours like before – but today I enjoyed my one hour and a half and I’m happy to bring the point to my national team. It’s my last Fed Cup so there are some big emotions,” said Schiavone, who will retire from professional tennis at the end of this season.
No.116 Sramkova took on Sara Errani, and came back from a set down to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
“I was nervous in that first set but I just said to myself ‘I’m going to win it’. I just changed my thinking,” Sramkova told FedCup.com after the victory.
Photos courtesy of FedCup.com
With the first full weekend at Wimbledon on the menu since 2004, check out the best matches set to take place as the first week comes to a close.
LONDON, Great Britain – The first to play on this rare People’s Sunday at the Wimbledon Championships, No.27 seed CoCo Vandeweghe clinched a spot in the second week for the second year in a row, ousting No.6 seed Roberta Vinci, 6-3, 6-4.
Vandeweghe reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at this very tournament one year ago, and has only gotten more comfortable on the grass courts since, winning a second Ricoh Open title and reaching the semifinals of the Aegon Classic with a win over World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska.
She played another emphatic match against the Italian on Centre Court, dropping just four points behind her first serve and hitting 21 winners to 17 unforced errors to earn the upset in just over an hour.
Along with the Williams sisters and Madison Keys, Vandeweghe became the fourth American woman to reach the second week at this year’s Championships.
Pavlyuchenkova Propels Into Round Four
Standing between the American and a second straight Wimbledon quarterfinal is No.21 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who surprised No.11 seed and 2015 quarterfinalist Timea Bacsinszky, 6-3, 6-2.
Heading into the Wimbledon fortnight, the Russian had never been past the third round, and hadn’t won back-to-back matches on grass since 2012, but overcame tough battles against Hsieh Su-Wei and Yulia Putintseva to play some of her best tennis against Bacsinszky to claim victory on her 25th birthday.
Maintaining a positive winner to unforced error differential at 24 to 20, Pavlyuchenkova had a stellar serving day of her own, winning 82% first serve points and missing just 14 first serves in the one hour and 18 minute encounter. The two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist and former World No.13 lost her only previous match with Vandeweghe back at the 2014 Miami Open, though the match was played over two tight sets.
Makarova Meets Vesnina In Singles Face-Off
Backing up her big win over two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in an endlessly rain-delayed second round, Ekaterina Makarova showed no signs of a let down against 2014 Wimbledon quarterfinalist and Aegon Classic runner-up Barbora Strycova, knocking out the No.24 seed, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the fourth round.
Makarova’s superb start to the 2015 season had been derailed by a lower leg injury; unseeded at a major tournament for the first time in four years, the Russian veteran has played phenomenal tennis since reuniting with doubles partner Elena Vesnina at the Mutua Madrid Open.
It’s only right then, that the two have a full circle moment in the round of 16 at the All England Club. In the midst of her own singles reurgence, Vesnina began the year playing Grand Slam qualifying after 40 straight main draw appearances, but after a season of solid wins over Simona Halep, Venus Williams, Belinda Bencic, and Caroline Wozniacki, the Russian veteran is back in the Top 50 and into the second week of a major for the first time since the 2013 Australian Open.
Vesnina has never beaten her doubles partner in a WTA match, losing 12 straight sets to Makarova – including four in their two 2015 matches.
Four Russians through to R16 (Kuznetsova, Makarova, Pavlyuchenkova, Vesnina) the most at #Wimbledon since 2009
— Kevin Fischer (@Kfish_WTA) July 3, 2016
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.