Indian Wells: Preview
A preview of action to come at this year’s the BNP Paribas Open.
– Day 1 winners: It was a picture perfect day at the BNP Paribas Open. The sun was out, the soccer field was hopping, and the first round of the tournament got underway.
Despite their respective rankings, the biggest upset of the day went to World No.36 Lesia Tsurenko, who beat an improving and in-form Timea Babos 7-5, 6-4. Tsurenko made the quarterfinals as a qualifier here last year, beating Andrea Petkovic, Alizé Cornet, and Eugenie Bouchard. But she had not won a match in 2016. There must be something in the desert air.
– More winners: Laura Siegemund (d. Begu), Yulia Putintseva (d. Peng), Kateryna Bondarenko (d. Van Uytvanck), Kurumi Nara (d. Pereira), Barbora Strycova (d. Sansnovich), Lucie Hradecka (d. Riske), Vania King (d. Townsend), Dominika Cibulkova (d. Siniakova), Heather Watson d. (Voskoboeva), Carina Witthoeft (d. Falconi), CoCo Vandeweghe (d. Bertens), Yaroslava Shvedova (d. Kr. Pliskova), Nicole Gibbs (d. Dulgheru), Johanna Larsson (d. Maria), Danka Kovinic (d. Crawford).
– Serena & Venus play on Friday: Venus Williams makes her much-anticipated return to the tournament on Friday during the day session, while Serena will headline the evening session.
– Angelique Kerber still riding the high: Kerber is still on cloud nine after her Australian Open triumph, but now it’s time to get back to work. The No.2 seed knows she’ll be playing with a big target on her back.
“It’s a new situation for me and I know every player who will play against me will give everything to beat me,” she said. “But this is also the situation you’re dreaming for, you’re working your whole life to be like, for me, No.2 at the moment. This is something you’re working for.”
Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber says she's still on cloud nine after the win. #BNPPO16 pic.twitter.com/N3HYtpeYf2
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 9, 2016
– Tricky conditions: The conditions at the BNP Paribas Open can be tricky. Not only does the ball fly in the dry desert air, but the gritty hard court plays relatively slowly. It can be a difficult combination for players to adjust to quickly.
“Here when you play in the morning sometimes it’s a little bit cold,” Carla Suárez Navarro explained. “When you play in the night it’s cold also. During the day it’s hot. It’s a little bit slower at night. During the day it flies a little bit. The court is not too fast. I really like that.”
“I feel like the surface is a little bit slow for me,” Petra Kvitova said. “I feel good. I’m healthy, that’s important.”
Welcome to All Access Hour at a Premier Mandatory, Belinda Bencic. A new experience. pic.twitter.com/d5bM4DBFRb
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 9, 2016
– Don’t have a cow, Belinda: This was Belinda Bencic’s first time going through All-Access Hour at a Premier Mandatory event and the attention and flurry of reporters was definitely a new experience.
“I think it’s a learning process,” she said, “For sure I had a couple of press conferences before [but] I never had this for many times, so it’s a little bit more attention off the court as well. But I enjoy it and it means you’re really Top 10, so I really do enjoy it.”
As for the perks of being a Top 10 player? “To be seeded all the time, you get practice courts, you get a better locker. You just have advantages in everything. You get better hotel rooms and gifts. It’s nice.”
So far her best gift has been “a huge fruit basket”. When reminded that Roger Federer was given a cow after winning a Slam, the 18-year-old was having none of it. “I don’t want a cow,” Bencic said with a laugh. “[I want] chocolate, like a huge basket!”
– Getting the band back together: Suárez Navarro and Garbiñe Muguruza, runners up at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global last year, have teamed up again for doubles in Indian Wells. “We play for the Olympics,” Suárez Navarro said. “It’s tough to play every week but this tournament we want to play together and play matches. The draw is really tough. We play Pliskova/Goerges. They made the semifinals in Melbourne. But just to play together again is a big step.”
– Carla psyches out the competition: The Spaniard, up to a career-high of No.6, has been working with a sports psychologist since last fall. She speaks to him every week and he’s on call for her whenever she needs to talk things through.
“I think that I needed it because if you want to be on top the things you have to improve or change are so little or so close,” she said. “You have to do that thing that is better for you. I start to work in October when I was in Asia, just because I was playing in August and I lost match by match and I didn’t find a solution. My coaches helped me a lot but these things are not easy. We think we need a professional person to help.”
– Top players react to Maria Sharapova’s announcement: A roundup of what the players are saying:
Serena Williams, who spoke ahead of the BNP Paribas Showdown on Tuesday (Serena will do her pre-tournament media obligations at 10:30am Thursday): “I think most people were happy she was upfront and very honest and showed a lot of courage to admit to what she had done and what she had neglected to look at in terms of the list at the end of the year,” Serena said.
“It’s just taking responsibility, which she admitted that she was willing to do and ready to do. Just hope for the best for everybody in that situation.”
Radwanska: “I was actually in the locker room here watching with all the other players what’s going on. We’re in shock, all of us. But well, nobody expected that for sure.”
Muguruza: “For sure it must be a very difficult situation for her. Well the good thing is that she acknowledged it and she’s facing it. That’s a good thing she’s doing and we’ll see how it goes.”
Kvitova: “I think this is an example we see that they are really trying to have a clean sport. I think the system is working. They are doing a good job in that.”
On Wednesday Sharapova posted a note to fans on Facebook, her first public comments since Monday’s press conference.
Petra Kvitova talks to the press at All Access Hour. Still coachless, here with a hitting partner. #BNPPO16 pic.twitter.com/au84F5bVUN
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 9, 2016
– Kvitova still coachless: Kvitova is in no rush to hire a coach after parting ways with David Kotyza in January. She’s here in Indian Wells with her hitting partner and enjoying the freedom to schedule and plan her own practices.
“I think it was a long time to be with David,” Kvitova said. “All the things we did was really working. I mean I have two Grand Slams and he did a great job. I think I still need to improve a lot of things. I think my aggressive game can still be more consistent. Trying to improve the serve and the first point in the rallies.”
– Put a ring on it: Kvitova will be taking the court with a new accessory: her engagement rink. Kvitova was playfully grilled by reporters about the details of how the proposal went down. It was quick, it happened at home, and yes, he bent down to one knee (“I don’t know if it was the left or right one”).
But she said the proposal wasn’t exactly a surprise. “I think I did expect it a bit for one or two days,” she said. “I just know him. I feel like he was more nervous than normal.”
– Let’s reminisce: I asked Kerber for the best experience she’s had since Melbourne, thinking she would highlight a high-profile celebrity event back home. Not Angie.
“I think for me, the best moment was when I got back home and I was sitting with my family and my friends, eating and thinking about my whole career, the last few years, more than 10 years right now, and that was for me the most special moment after I came back.”
An interview with Belinda Bencic before the start of the BNP Paribas Open.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Eugenie Bouchard stayed calm and kept her Indian Wells campaign alive, battling past No.21 seed Sloane Stephens to book a third round clash with Timea Bacsinszky at the BNP Paribas Open.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Indian Wells right here on wtatennis.com!
Both players came into the second-round clash riding the wave of a personal renaissance in their tennis – Stephens has already won two titles so far this year and owns an impressive 11-1 record, while Bouchard has reached the finals at two events after a well-documented 2015 drought.
Bouchard faced her first big mental test in the form of Japanese qualifier Risa Ozaki – at one stage being five points away from defeat in the last round – and she knew the clash with Stephens would be no easier. Stephens edged their head-to-head 2-1, with both of their last two matches ending in tough, three set battles.
Stephens quickly climbed to a break up twice in the first set – both times with help from a couple of Bouchard’s double faults – and each time the Canadian recovered to get the breaks back. It was one of the many signs of Bouchard’s newfound calmness and maturity; she was able to put those setbacks behind her instead of dwelling on what could have been. Bouchard blasted a huge forehand return down the line just out of Stephens’ reach to put away the first set.
But Stephens didn’t go away quietly in the second set. Instead, she erased a 2-0 lead from Bouchard to level the score and fight her way into the match.
The American broke Bouchard’s serve once again – again with help from a Bouchard double fault – to serve for the set at 5-4. Bouchard fought her way back from 0-40 down, erasing three set points by forcing a forehand long from Stephens’ racquet. A lucky net cord gave Bouchard a break point as the two were deadlocked, going from break point to set point and back and forth again. Bouchard saved a fifth set point and took the game as well as the wind out of Stephens’ sails.
She quickly grabbed the next two games to take the match 7-5, 7-5 after a hard-fought hour and forty-one minutes.
“It was very very close. I got lucky with a netcord,” Bouchard said after the match. “I just kept trying to fight and kept trying to step in a bit and dictate the point. That works well for me – I try to do that a lot.
“I just had so much fun playing tonight. Sloane played a great match.”
“The Great One” @OfficialGretzky in the house supporting fellow Canadian @GenieBouchard! ?? #WTA https://t.co/QPXdQmamp3
— WTA (@WTA) March 13, 2016
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska was nearly out of the BNP Paribas Open less that 48 hours ago, but the Pole rebounded in spectacular style on Sunday, dismissing Monica Niculescu, 6-2, 6-1, behind a barrage of her signature trick shots.
Down a match point to Dominika Cibulkova in the second round, Radwanska faced an opponent almost as wily as herself in Niculescu, splitting their last two encounters in the last year.
“I played her just two weeks ago in Doha, so that also helped,” Radwanska told the media in her post-match press conference. “I really know what to expect there. Of course she’s little bit different player than the others. Never easy. Always tricky opponent.
“I knew I would have to be patient. I think that’s the most important thing in that kind of matches. And really try to play my game. She can be really tough. Just very happy to win that match actually in those two quick sets.”
As quickly as the 87 minute match went, Radwanska still had time for some impressive play, leaving fans, media, and even Belinda Bencic begging for more:
“It’s just pretty much the reaction and things that I do on court. I think is the way I play,” the Pole said of her trick shots.
“I definitely have a couple of favorite ones. Also a couple of ones I play against Vinci in Doha; couple of ones as well from Singapore.
“Everything is just happening so fast and I always have like couple of them each tournament, so I am even forgetting what happen in last few months,” she said with a smile. “That would be good to have actually those highlights on internet that I can watch again and see what I did.”
Ask, believe, receive: check out some of those hot shots below:
Got it! ✋ #WTA https://t.co/BG7LdnR0Ra
— WTA (@WTA) March 13, 2016
Oh you know, just a typical day at the office for @ARadwanska. What a shot! ? #WTA https://t.co/600w9Wz7BR
— WTA (@WTA) March 13, 2016
#SCTop10 anyone? @ARadwanska was on FIRE! ? https://t.co/ctucReiGbc
— WTA (@WTA) March 13, 2016
Why dont we just give @ARadwanska the “Hotshot Award” already?? #ridicilous
— Belinda Bencic (@BelindaBencic) March 13, 2016
Check out more of Radwanska’s shots here and here.
Simona Halep takes on Ekaterina Makarova in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open.
Karolina Pliskova takes on Ana Ivanovic in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – On Wednesday afternoon Sara Errani and Oksana Kalashnikova claimed the latest upset of their fledgling partnership, ousting Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Indian Wells right here on wtatennis.com!
Playing only their third match together, Errani and Kalashnikova took a while to find their feet against the No.4 seeds, dropping a one-sided opening set. However, their turned the match on its head in spectacular fashion to take the second set and then outplay the Czechs in the decisive match tie-break.
Errani and Kalashnikova’s 3-6, 6-3, 10-5 victory means that only one of the eight seeded teams – No.3 seeds Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova – has made it through to the semifinals in Indian Wells.
We did it again ???? Forza ?@SaraErrani @BNPPARIBASOPEN
— Oksana Kalashnikova (@OksKalashnikova) March 17, 2016
Meeting them for a place in the final will be Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova, 6-4, 6-3 winners over Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva.
In the previous round, King and Kudryavtseva sent shockwaves through the draw by knocking out top seeds Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza, and against Goerges and Pliskova they carried on from where they left off, surging into a 4-1 lead.
This proved to be a false dawn, though, as Goerges and Pliskova pegged back then overhauled them to make it through to the last four of a WTA event together for just the second time.
On the other side of the draw, Babos and Shvedova will take on the all-American team of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and CoCo Vandeweghe.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – 2012 champion Victoria Azarenka needed just 67 minutes to overcome an ailing Magdalena Rybarikova in a complete shutout to advance to the semifinals at the BNP Paribas Open.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Indian Wells right here on wtatennis.com!
Ahead of day’s last quarterfinal, Azarenka delivered a warning message to her opponents at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
“I don’t think I am close to fulfilling my potential,” she said in last round’s post-match press conference. “Just to see what I can do on practice court and physically what I can improve, I’m far from that. That’s what I’m looking forward to improve.”
If that’s really the case, her opponents will have much to worry about after Azarenka’s 6-0, 6-0 win over Magdalena Rybarikova.
Rybarikova, who at No.97 is the lowest-ranked player to reach the quarterfinals at Indian Wells since 2012, found herself struggling with her serve early on. Only 41 percent of her first serves found their mark in the opening set, giving Azarenka many opportunities to come up into the court and attack Rybarkiova’s weaker second serve. The Belarusian threw everything at her opponent – even attempting a tweener – and Rybarikova couldn’t come up with a reply, quickly dropping the first set after only 34 minutes.
The Slovak’s troubles would only get worse from there; she called the trainer during the changeover to treat an injury to her right leg.
Azarenka continued to steamroll in the second set as Rybarikova’s movement became increasingly hampered. Despite struggling a bit with her serve – Azarenka served two double faults in one game to give Rybarikova break point at 2-0, and again at 4-0 to give her three more break chances – she stayed perfect until the end, blasting her third ace of the match to secure the victory and her spot in the semifinals.
“I think the key today was the start,” Azarenka said after the win. “I really started aggressive, taking opportunities and I felt like I was in full control.”
“I think in the second set she wasn’t feeling really well, but it was important for me to stay in the moment and keep dictating. It’s easy to lose focus and pay too much attention to your opponent.”
Azarenka opponent in the semifinals will be the big-hitting Czech Karolina Pliskova, who ended Daria Kasatkina’s breakthrough run in Indian Wells with a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Serena Williams withstood a spirited challenge from Agnieszka Radwanska to reach the final of the BNP Paribas Open on Friday evening.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Indian Wells right here on wtatennis.com!
In stark contrast to their meeting at the same stage of this January’s Australian Open, Williams found herself In a real dogfight, responding magnificently by rattling off 11 of the final 12 points to complete a 6-4, 7-6(1) victory.
“I love tie-breakers and my whole aim is just to win the first seven points – if you do that you can’t lose,” Serena told Andrew Krasny immediately after the match.
No player has ever won three titles in Indian Wells, and 15 years after picking up her second Williams will go in search of the hat-trick when she takes on Victoria Azarenka in the final.
“What a career. I never expected to be here again in Indian Wells, let alone the final. It’s really unbelievable,” she added.
Perhaps inspired by her imminent rise to No.2 in the rankings, Radwanska committed to attacking Williams from the outset. The decision made for an entertaining spectacle and it was immediately apparent that there would be no repeat of the Melbourne whitewash, a smart backhand winner helping the Pole to a break in the opening game.
Radwanska continued to pile on the pressure as the set wore on, only for Williams to bail herself out of trouble with a series of pin-point serves. The failure to secure the insurance of a second break proved costly, as Williams’ own return game belatedly spluttered into life.
A vicious backhand proved the catalyst as the American converted her first break point to draw level at 4-4 before completing the turnaround a few games later some more ferocious returning.
At the start of the second set, Radwanska looked in danger of getting blown away, Williams moving through the gears to open up a 3-0 lead. To her credit, Radwanska did not let her head drop, pulling back the break and even threatening to force a decider. However, there was to be no comeback, the World No.1’s grandstand finish sending her would-be rival back the drawing board.