Beijing: Keys Interview
An interview with Madison Keys after her win in the quarterfinals of the China Open.
An interview with Madison Keys after her win in the quarterfinals of the China Open.
Caroline Wozniacki discusses her experience attending Super Bown LI at the Qatar Total Open.
The qualifier Lauren Davis came through her rain-affected first-round match with a surprise 6-2, 6-3 win over Roberta Vinci.
Timea Bacsinszky takes on Simona Halep in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open.
The WTA World No.18 was 0-2 down twice against Kiki Bertens but fought back to win 6-2, 6-3.
BEIJING, China – No.5 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova won their 16th match in a row to capture a third straight title in the finals of the China Open, upsetting top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, 6-4, 6-4. Both teams will be ones to watch heading into the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
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“It’s amazing, our third tournament in a row,” Safarova said as Mattek-Sands threw in a “Team Bucie!” cheer.
“We’re really on a roll, had some really great matches here, tough ones. We played great, both of us in the final,” turning to her partner to add, “Thank you B!”
The elated pair fell into giggles.
“I’ll play next to you any time, Lucie!”
Mattek-Sands and Safarova were a game from elimination against the French in the final of the US Open, but the 2015 Australian Open and French Open champions turned the tables on the reigning Roland Garros winners and have been unbeatable ever since, triumphing in Flushing and the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open heading into Beijing.
“We had a lot of fun, like we do at every tournament,” Mattek-Sands said of their weeks in Wuhan and Beijing. “We have fun on and off the court, from the warm-ups to the dinners and foot massages. We had a lot of fun here in China and we’re looking forward to coming back.”
Their win in Wuhan guaranteed a second straight appearance at the WTA Finals, and the pair will be aiming to erase tough memories from last year, when the two were forced to withdraw in the round robin stage due to injury.
“Thanks to the Chinese fans because they were amazing,” Safarova said. “They came with all kinds of great pictures and presents, and so it was really nice and special.”
Top seed Angelique Kerber crashed out of the Qatar Total Open, turning in an error-strewn performance and allowing Daria Kasatkina a 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 win.
Long-time doubles partners Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka took to the court together once more at the Tianjin Open – as singles opponents – with the latter emerging victorious, 7-5, 6-4.
The Czech pair have long teamed up as doubles partners with great success, winning the 2011 French Open and 2013 US Open titles together. They will play together once more in a fortnight’s time at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
However, their personal friendship was put to one side in Tianjin and Hradecka has admitted that it felt bizarre to meet Hlavackova for the fourth time in her career.
“You know, it was a tough match playing against Andrea,” she said after the match.
“It’s always tough because we play with each other in doubles and we’re going for the Masters. It’s really tough, you have to concentrate. It’s a strange situation, certainly.
“I’m so happy that I’m through and I’m looking forward to the next match.”
Looking forward, Hradecka says she and Hlavackova are excited to play in the Singapore, which gets underway on October 23.
“We’re looking forward to being in Singapore again, it’s great that we did it this year as well. You know, I think we’re both so excited to be there with the best doubles players in the world.”
No.3 seed Dominika Cibulkova celebrated her 400th career match win in style, surviving nemesis Samantha Stosur to reach the final four at the Qatar Total Open.