Serena Williams On Her 'Scrappy Performance'
Serena Williams discusses her performance in her second-round victory at the Australian Open.
Serena Williams discusses her performance in her second-round victory at the Australian Open.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Victoria Azarenka continued her march towards a third Miami Open title with a straight set win over Johanna Konta in Wednesday’s quarterfinal.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Miami right here on wtatennis.com!
In a high-quality encounter, Azarenka withstood some early pressure before raising her game to prevail, 6-4, 6-2.
“She’s such a great player and it’s interesting to see what sort of player she was last year and playing well here, so I see a lot of potential,” Azarenka told ESPN’s Mary Joe Fernandez afterwards. “I couldn’t actually get a read on her serve in the beginning – it was tough for me to adjust – but then I got a bit lower and tried to get more returns in, be a bit more aggressive.”
Playing her first match on Crandon Park’s cavernous Stadium court, Konta started brightly, breezing through her first two service games whilst exerting early pressure with some aggressive returning.
But in the seventh game, Azarenka created an opportunity of her own, punching away a volley to earn her first break points. Konta produced some smart play to reach the safety of deuce only to succumb two points later when she double faulted for the first time.
This lapse proved a costly one, Azarenka’s serve holding firm to close out the set in a fraction under an hour. With Konta’s level dropping, Azarenka began to pile on the pressure, a brilliant stretching forehand return bringing up three break points early in the second set.
Once again, Konta’s serve wilted, a second double fault putting the No.13 seed in the driving seat. She soon stretched this lead to 5-1 and despite some spirited late resistance eventually crossed the finish line to register her 11th straight victory.
“I think there are adjustments every day; it depends on the opponent you play, the conditions you play – I’ve played some night matches, I played some matches where it was really hot, today it’s really windy – so I think it’s all about adaptation every single day and for me focusing on my recovery because I’ve been playing a lot of tennis!”
After her Indian Wells triumph, the Belarusian remains on course to become just the third player to win Indian Wells and Miami in the same season. However, Azarenka, who lifted Miami titles in 2009 and 2011, refused to get drawn on her chances of becoming first player since Kim Clijsters to complete the feat: “Right now I’m looking forward to the semifinal. If I can make it, it’s great. Right now it seems so close but I want to stay in the present and continue to fight and keep getting better.”
Meeting Azarenka for a place in the final will be the winner of the evening encounter between Madison Keys and No.2 seed Angelique Kerber.
It was a pleasure to share the court with you @vika7 https://t.co/JXkFvNjzJD
— Johanna Konta (@JoKonta91) March 30, 2016
CoCo Vandeweghe discusses the significance of her win over Eugenie Bouchard in her post-match press conference at the Australian Open.
MIAMI, FL, USA – How many minutes has Svetlana Kuznetsova spent on court? Who has hit the most aces? And just how impressive has Angelique Kerber’s returning been? These are just a few of the questions answered in a Miami Open semifinal edition of wtatennis.com’s By The Numbers.
20,000,000 – Should Svetlana Kuznetsova reach the final she will pass $20million in career prize money.
575 – Kuznetsova has taken 575 minutes to win her four matches – 128 minutes more than her semifinal opponent, Timea Bacsinszky. Victoria Azarenka and Angelique Kerber have spent 379 and 343 minutes, respectively, on court thus far.
75 – Azarenka’s improved serve has helped her fend off 12 of 16 (75%) break points this fortnight – the best among the four remaining players. In her quarterfinal with Johanna Konta, the Belarusian saved all five break points faced.
51.4 – The percentage of return points Kerber has won in her four matches at Crandon Park. She has also converted a staggering 77.8% of her break point opportunities.
42 – Azarenka has won 42 of her 54 meetings with left-handers on tour. Six of these have come against Kerber. However, her solitary defeat against the German came in arguably their most high-profile meeting, at this year’s Australian Open.
22 – Kuznetsova has struck more aces, 22, than any other player en route to the last four. Kerber, meanwhile, has hit just two.
20 – Victory over Konta took Azarenka’s 2016 match win tally to 20. Last season, the former No.1 did not reach this total until Wimbledon.
15 – Bacsinszky is bidding to become the first Swiss finalist in Miami since Martina Hingis finished runner-up 15 years ago.
5 – By virtue of her run to the semifinals Azarenka will return to the Top 5 (at No.5) for the first time since May, 2014, at the expense of Simona Halep. This will be the first time Halep has been ranked outside the Top 5 since March, 2014.
4 – Four different nationalities are represented in the semifinals at Crandon Park for the fifth year in succession.
2 – Azarenka has reached the last four in Miami twice, in 2009 and 2011, and on both occasions she went on to win the title.
1 – Before this fortnight, Kerber and Kuznetsova had registered a combined total of one main draw win since the Australian Open.
0 – The number of sets Azarenka has dropped en route to the semifinals. The last player to be crowned Miami champion without dropping a set was Agnieszka Radwanska in 2012.
MELBOURNE, Australia – On Day 5 of the Australian Open, the favorites took care of business. The two surprises of the day came from Anastasia Pavluchenkova knocking out No.11 seed Elina Svitolina and Sorana Cirstea continuing her good form to beat Alison Riske and advance to her first Round of 16 at a Slam since the 2009 French Open.
Here’s what you missed:
The Top Half Round of 16 is set for Sunday.
No.1 Angelique Kerber vs. No.35 CoCo Vandeweghe
No.78 Sorana Cirstea vs. No.7 Garbiñe Muguruza
No.116 Mona Barthel vs. No.17 Venus Williams
No.27 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. No.10 Svetlana Kuznetsova
@MonaBarthel chats on court after progressing to the fourth round pic.twitter.com/mP2kbRXziT
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 20, 2017
Mona Barthel’s long road back.
The German’s talent has never been a question. With a fluid backhand that can take the ball down the line with remarkable precision and disguise, the 26-year-old hit a career-high of No.23 in 2013. But she came into Melbourne having to qualify for the main draw, with a ranking that plummetted to No.116 after an undiagnosed illness derailed her 2016 season.
“Nobody knew what it was exactly,” Barthel said. “Starting around here last year when I got back home I just couldn’t do anything. Walking 100 meters was totally exhausting for me. It was a really tough time. Tennis wasn’t really a part of it, I was just trying to get back to live a normal life. I really didn’t know if I could return.
“It was a tough year for me. I was really sick for a long time. It took me a lot of time to come back and feel physically good again. I think since December I felt a lot better and could practice a lot more and get the hours on the court. I’m just physically much fitter than I was before and that helps me mentally because I know I can play the long rallies and go for three sets.
into the 4th round @AustralianOpen
Bravo @BarthelMona ???
Danke für den Support @WitthoeftCarina @philliplang91
???? pic.twitter.com/iJbXpaAnM1— Christopher Kas (@KasiTennis) January 20, 2017
“It was mentally tough because if you don’t have a diagnosis you don’t know if it’s coming back. It was tough sometimes on court. I just didn’t know where my body was, if I could trust it again. But it’s much better now.”
Barthel needed all her reserves to get past another solid performance from Ashleigh Barty, coming back from a break down in the third to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. The win puts Barthel into her first Round of 16 at a Slam where she’ll face Venus Williams.
“She’s a great player. If she’s on, she’s playing unbelievable. But I won six matches in a row. Nothing is impossible.”
Svetlana Kuznetsova plays another marathon in Melbourne.
It was six years ago that Kuznetsova played her part in setting the record for the longest women’s match at a Slam, eventually succumbing to Francesca Schiavone here in Melbourne in 4 hours and 44 minutes. The No.9 seed didn’t have to go that far this time, but she needed 3 hours and 36 minutes to get past Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 5-7, 9-7. Kuznetsova rallied back from 0-3 down in the final set to nip Jankovic in the end.
You're welcome.#ausopen pic.twitter.com/fdqLiuKmcE
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 20, 2017
CoCo Vandeweghe swags past Eugenie Bouchard.
In the most anticipated match of the day, Vandeweghe came back from a break down in the third set to beat Bouchard 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in a top-quality battle between two big hitters. The win puts Vandeweghe into her first Round of 16 at a hard court major and she’ll get a chance to pull off the upset over No.1 Angelique Kerber on Sunday.
One thing is for sure: Vandweghe will not be short of confidence. The American was asked whether her win over Bouchard ranked high on her list of career victories and Vandeweghe dismissed the idea.
Coco #Vandeweghe will “be as prepared as possible” for her 4R clash #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/cAWiC7xFaD
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 20, 2017
“Actually, not that high now that I think about it,” she said, smiling. “I think there are different moments in my career that I have, my short career, that I enjoy, different wins for different reasons.
“I think probably my favorite match that I won — well, I probably have to say tournament, is probably my first WTA title would be my favorite. Then after that, I had a really good run at Montreal where I beat Jankovic and Ivanovic back to back, and that was the first time I ever beat two — I believe they were top 10, both of them, at the time, first time I had ever done that.
“So this one isn’t that high for me. It was kind of expected, in my mind, to get the win and to get the victory and to move a step closer to achieving what I want to achieve for this year and also this tournament.”
Venus Williams doesn’t age.
The 36-year-old has now made the second week at four consecutive Slams and has done so in seven of her last nine majors. On Friday she lost just one game to Duan Ying-Ying, sealing the match in under an hour.
Kristyna Pliskova has a surprising admirier.
The Czech couldn’t do much against Kerber, losing 6-0, 6-4 in 55 minutes. But she certainly caught one Gladiator’s attention:
@KrisPliskova you will be a champion, if you decide to be … You are more powerful than you realise . Strength and honour
— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) January 20, 2017
Quote of the Day: “It wasn’t a horrible trip.”
Bouchard leaves Australia with a lot of positives, having found some consistent form to make the Sydney semifinals and come within a few games of the Round of 16 here.
“Obviously, deep down, always expect more, but, you know, I couldn’t expect too much, considering I trained for a month, and it’s the first, you know, really good training I got in a while, first time I got a good break in a while, first time I trained well in a while,” she said.
“It’s kind of like a restart process. I can’t expect too much at the beginning. It wasn’t a horrible trip.”
The Barty Party is over.
It was a great tournament for Barty, who will jump to around No.150 after the tournament. “I think if you would have asked me 12 months ago if I was going to be in the third round of the Australian Open, I would say, Mate, you’re kidding,” Barty said. “Obviously it’s disappointing tonight that we couldn’t execute what we wanted. But still a very positive week.”
Now we’ll just end it on this:
Go @ashbar96 All of #IpswichQld is behind you. #winning #AusOpen We couldn't resist this flashback pic taken 2002 @AustralianOpen @7tennis pic.twitter.com/S7ca81o1ov
— Ipswich City Council (@IpswichCouncil) January 20, 2017
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her win in the final of the China Open.
WTA Insider | Courtney Nguyen and David Kane recap an exciting first week at the Australian Open; who performed best of the top seeds; can Karolina Pliskova play spoiler for Serena?
Former World No.1 Venus Williams reached her second Australian Open quarterfinal in the last three years with a decisive win over qualifier Mona Barthel.
LINZ, Austria – No.4 seed Carla Suárez Navarro overcame some big hitting from Mona Barthel to ease past the German, 6-4, 6-2, to not only advance into the second round of the Generali Ladies Linz, but also retain her hopes of qualifying for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
“The most important thing is to take it match by match, step by step,” Suárez Navarro said in her post-match press conference. “Today, I felt really good on the court today. It’s an important week because of Singapore – not only for me, but for other players, as well.”
The Spaniard, currently ranked No.10 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard, narrowly missed out on qualification last year, and could yet find herself closing in on the Top 8 with strong results in Linz – in a draw that boats four Top 10 players – and at next week’s Kremlin Cup.
“Players all want spots in Singapore, and we only have a few more tournaments. For me, this is a really good tournament, really good facilities. The hotel is close to site, and the food is really good. You guys will have an interesting week for sure,” she said, joking with the members of the media.
Though she led Barthel 2-0 in their head-to-head, the pair had only played on clay – Suárez Navarro’s favorite surface – and the indoor hardcourts are a much better fit for the former World No.23, who struggled with illness and injury throughout the season.
“The color [of the court] is different, but sometimes when the court is too fast, it’s not really good for me. It’s not good for the tennis or for the show, either, because it’s bing, bam, bing, bam – so fast! But I really like these courts; the color is nice and different. It’s not too fast, so it’s good.”
Serving at 71% for the match, Suárez Navarro’s consistency won the day, breaking serve four times to reach the second round in just over an hour.
“I know she serves really well, so I had to be focused on the return game. The end of the first set was tough for me, but I tried to be solid, sometimes aggressive with my return. I’m happy with my performance.”
One of the only women to reach the second week at all four major tournaments in 2016, Suárez Navarro, who won the biggest tournament of her career earlier this season at the Qatar Total Open, next plays Sara Sorribes Tormo, who knocked out Jelena Ostapenko, 7-6(3), 6-4.
“When you make it to Singapore, it’s one of the best moments after the four Grand Slams. It would be good for my career if I can make it there, even once.
“It’s tough to get there, but even Zhuhai is also a good tournament. It means you’ve finished the year in the Top 15; that’s not bad at all.”
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