Kerber, Cibulkova, Radwanska & Wozniacki All Fall In Day Of Upsets
Angelique Kerber, Dominika Cibulkova, Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki were all stunned as a day of upsets rocked the Brisbane International, Shenzhen Open and ASB Classic.
Angelique Kerber, Dominika Cibulkova, Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki were all stunned as a day of upsets rocked the Brisbane International, Shenzhen Open and ASB Classic.
Karolina Pliskova takes on Elina Svitolina in the semifinals of the Brisbane International.
Katerina Siniakova takes on Alison Riske in the final of the Shenzhen Open.
ISTANBUL, Turkey – The children of the British International School and the Robert College in Istanbul were in for a treat at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup on Tuesday, where they joined Sara Tomic for a tennis clinic.
Tomic, who was playing in the qualifying rounds, hit the Garanti Koza Arena to hit some balls with the students. She coached them through baseline drills, then teamed up for a quick doubles match. After the clinic, Tomic signed some balls and took photos with the students.
Check out the best photos below, courtesy of the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup.
Watch all the best shots of the week from the ASB Classic, Brisbane International and Shenzhen Open!
Who isn’t a fan of hazelnut spread? USANA brand ambassador Alizé Cornet shared with us her favorite recipe for her favorite pre-match snacks – and you only need three ingredients to make it at home.
Watch the video above to see how Cornet makes her special banana sandwich.
Here’s everything you need:
USANA is the Official Vitamin & Supplement Supplier of the WTA, and over 170 Athletes – including 8 out of the Top 10 and 15 out of the Top 20 use USANA products. Former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, Samantha Stosur, Eugenie Bouchard, and Madison Keys are among several USANA ambassadors, and 2016 marks the 10th Anniversary of the USANA-WTA partnership.
Dominika Cibulkova takes on Laura Siegemund in the first round of the Apia International Sydney.
STUTTGART, Germany – 2015 US Open finalist Roberta Vinci served out a tense first round encounter with former Top 10 player Ekaterina Makarova on Wednesday, dispatching the Russian, 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4.
Watch live action from Stuttgart & Istanbul this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Vinci and Makarova had played five times before, with the latter winning their most recent encounter at last year’s Australian Open, but it was Vinci who took the early initiative following three straight service breaks to start the match, racing out to a 5-2 lead in the first set tie-break and converting her first set point shortly thereafter.
“It was a tough match; Makarova is a great player, a difficult player with the left hand,” Vinci said after the match.
The second set featured six service breaks as Makarova recovered from losing serve to start to take a 5-3 lead in the hopes of leveling the match, ultimately breaking the No.6 seed to even out the contest.
“The court is fast, and I was a set and 3-1 with a lot of chances to go 4-2, but I lost the second set. The beginning of the third, I stayed focused, didn’t think about the second set, played aggressively because the court is fast, and it’s not easy to defend.”
Undaunted, Vinci promptly took an early lead in the decider and never looked back, clinching the win on her ifrst match point. In all, the match was quite high-quality affair, with each woman hitting over 40 winners and just around 30 unforced errors; the Italian veteran provided the cleaner hitting of the two with 44 winners to 31 unforced while Makarova struck 40 winners and 33 errors of her own.
Vinci also struck six aces to her unseeded opponent, who couldn’t find any aces in her arsenal on Wednesday, striking three double faults instead.
Cheeky cross-court backhand winner from @Roberta_Vinci! #PTGP https://t.co/93BoP5nmUg
— WTA (@WTA) April 20, 2016
“I’m happy because I played two bad matches in Fed Cup, so now here it’s nice to come and win this match.”
Vinci next plays 2011 champion Julia Goerges; the ASB Classic finalist outfoxed Alizé Cornet, 6-4, 6-0, to reach the second round in one hour and 16 minutes.
Karolina Pliskova won a more topsy-turvy firts round on Court 1; playing last year’s French Open finalist Lucie Safarovs, Pliskova edged past her countrywoman, 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-5, in well over two and a half hours.
The big-serving Czech dynamo snuck off with an opening set of 12 straight service holds, and held off a late surge from Safarova, who won her first set of 2016 and recovered from a 5-3 deficit in the final set.
In the last match of the day session, Andrea Petkovic outsteadied Kristina Mladenovic to win a fourth straight encounter agains the French youngster, 6-2, 6-4. Completing the round of 16 line-up, Petkovic will next take on top seed Agnieszka Radwanska.
First set ? @JuliaGoerges
Wins the opening set vs Cornet 6-4! #PTGP https://t.co/9HvNtA26Hi
— WTA (@WTA) April 20, 2016
Caroline Wozniacki had Monday’s shot of the day at the Apia International Sydney.
ISTANBUL, Turkey – Cagla Buyukakcay kept alive hopes of a Turkish champion at this year’s TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup with a comfortable second-round win over Sorana Cirstea.
Watch live action from Stuttgart & Istanbul this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Prior to this year Buyukakcay had never won a match in eight appearances at her home event, but after dispatching Cirstea, 6-4, 6-2, she has now registered two in three days.
“Yes it´s my best result in my country. I am very excited,” Buyukakcay said. “I think that at the beginning it´s tough, your people want you to play well, you feel the pressure. I handled it well in my first match here, and today I was focused on what I had to do well and not on the result.”
A flying start saw Buyukakcay rattle off four unanswered games, and despite surrendering one of these breaks she hung on to take the set. She made a similarly bright start to the second, breaking in the opening game when a Cirstea backhand found the top of the tape.
Cirstea had her chances to get back in the match, yet was left to rue a succession of spurned break opportunities, as Buyukakcay closed out the match to the delight of her compatriots in the crowd.
“I wanted to play well from the start and I think I managed to do it for the entire match,” Buyukakcay added. “I think that the difference was my mental approach and also because I feel well physically. I am also more experienced now, I have played the tournament for eight years now, and that has helped me to play better.”
Meeting Buyukakcay for a place in the semifinals will be No.6 seed Nao Hibino, a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 winner over qualifier Reka-Luca Jani.
“I’ve nothing to lose tomorrow against Hibino. She is a great player, Top 100, and I am enjoying how I am playing and want to focus on tomorrow and play well.”
Meanwhile, in the top half there were wins for Anastasija Sevastova and Kateryna Kozlova. Sevastova began Thursday’s play by ousting No.8 seed Johanna Larsson, 6-4, 6-3.
“It was a very tough match but a very high-quality clay court tennis match,” Sevastova said. “It was very close and only decided on a few points. It’s a good start of the clay season for me and I’m looking forward to my next match and will try to do my best.”
Kozlova was equally impressive in dispatching No.4 seed Kirsten Flipkens, 6-3, 6-4. “It was not an easy match because Kirsten doesn´t give you any rhythm so that was difficult. But the key for me was to stay calm. I am very happy to reach my win because it´s my first quarterfinal on clay. I feel good and hope to continue to do well,” Kozlova said.