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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

DUBAI, UAE – No.2 seeds and Olympic Gold medalists Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina came through multiple rain delays and a thrilling match tie-break to knock out Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai – next week’s top-ranked team on the Road to Singapore leaderboard – 6-2, 4-6, 10-7 to each win their first title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

“Winning the trophy like here in Dubai, it’s very prestigious,” Vesnina said after the match. “It’s the first time we played final here. We were just passing by the corridor, and we saw the trophy. We were just really pleased with the result, because winning such a big title, it’s always giving us some confidence, some positive emotions.”

The Russians reunited last spring after nearly a year apart due to Makarova’s lower leg injury, and quickly resumed being one of the game’s top teams, not only taking home gold at the Olympic tennis event but also winning the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

Playing their second final of the season after finishing runner-up at the Brisbane International to eventual No.1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sania Mirza, Makarova and Vesnina enjoyed a bright start to what became a stormy day in Dubai, racing through the opening set behind three breaks of serve.

“At the beginning of the match we felt really good rhythm. We felt we were kind of controlling the game, even knowing that they’re really good players.”

The first set and a half featured intermittent rain delays, but a heavier pattern set in at 3-3, sending the two teams off court for over an hour. Hlavackova and Peng emerged much stronger after the break – tapping into the form that helped them reach the Australian Open final – and twice broke serve to level the match.

“After these rain delays, it was too much of the rain delays, to be honest. I think everyone would lose their rhythm. Even Roger [Federer], I think, would lose his rhythm after this kind of on-and-off, on-and-off!

“And they came back to the game, you know. They had pretty good games on their serves. Then we were just a little bit tight. On one game after the rain delay, I think I didn’t hit one ball with the center of my racquet. I was just missing the volleys. I felt like I don’t see the ball. I need the glasses.”

A tense sudden death followed; even as the No.2 seeds forged ahead, the Czech/Chinese duo were never far behind, saving a pair of championship points before ultimately succumbing after two hours and 13 minutes.

The Russians played with imperious aggression throughout, hitting 27 winners – including a stunning lob from Vesnina to set up their slew of match points – to just 13 from the No.6 seeds, who were ultimately undone by their second serve, off which they won three of 22 points.

The title in Dubai is Makarova and Vesnina’s ninth as a pair, including two Grand Slam trophies at the French Open and US Open in 2013 and 2014.

“Well, it’s a good start, and we are playing good tennis in doubles, especially this tournament,” Makarova said. “Every match was pretty good doubles tennis, you know, and we were really enjoying how we play, and even it was a deciding tiebreak before. But we will play, of course, big tournaments and hope it will go well.”

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Wimbledon: Top 8 Seeds' Histories

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

How have Serena Williams, Garbiñe Muguruza, Agnieszka Radwanska, Angelique Kerber and the rest of the top Wimbledon contenders fared in their past visits to the All England Club?

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Serena Handed Tricky Wimbledon Draw

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Serena Williams’s path to a potential 22nd Grand Slam title will be far from straightforward, after Friday’s Wimbledon draw placed a number a potential banana skins in her way.

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Five Thoughts On The Wimbledon Draw

Five Thoughts On The Wimbledon Draw

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

The 2016 Wimbledon draw is out. For the full draw click here.

Serena Williams faces familiar foes: World No.1 and defending champion Serena Williams leads the top half of the draw, which will get underway on Tuesday. On the whole the top half of the draw features a tougher selection of seeds compared to the bottom half of the draw, with No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska, Petra Kvitova, and Belinda Bencic, and Timea Bacsinszky, as well as two dangerous lower seeds in CoCo Vandeweghe and Kristina Mladenovic. Throw in an unseeded Caroline Wozniacki, who opens against No.13 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, and it’s clear the top half is prime for some upsets.

As for Serena, she’ll likely see a slew of familiar opponents in the first week. She opens against a qualifier in the first round – she is 17-0 against qualifiers and lucky losers at the Slams – and then plays either Christina McHale or Daniela Hantuchova. Serena has played McHale twice in the last three months, and the younger American has played her tough.

Heather Watson, who was two points away from beating Serena here last year, or Kristina Mladenovic, who gave her a tough test last month at the French Open, could be looming in the third round, with Mladenovic being the more dangerous of the two. Get through that and she could be looking at a Round of 16 tussle with Kuznetsova, Sloane Stephens, or Wozniacki.

The upshot: These are not opponents Serena will be unfamiliar with or underestimate in the slightest. It might just be the draw she needs to stay focused in and charged up for the fortnight and she tries to chase down that record-tying 22nd major title.

Garbine Muguruza

Garbiñe Muguruza primed for another deep run: Aside from the tough task of playing the always dangerous and grass-loving Camila Giorgi in the first round, this is a good draw for the French Open champion. The earliest seed she could face is No.28 Lucie Safarova, who still trying to find her form, then either Samantha Stosur or Elina Svitolina, neither of whom are comfortable on grass.

Muguruza’s potential seeded quarterfinal opponents: Venus Williams, Carla Suárez Navarro, Jelena Jankovic, or Daria Kasatkina. That’s a very good look for the semifinals if Muguruza can manage Giorgi.

Agnieszka Radwanska put to the test: The second quarter of the draw is a tight one, packed with in-form lower-ranked players, and top players with question marks. Radwanska could face Mallorca Open champion Caroline Garcia, in a rematch of their second round match at the French Open. Her fourth round opponent could be one of Dominika Cibulkova, who defeated her today to reach the Aegon International final, Johanna Konta, who is also in the midst of a deep run in Eastbourne, or a dangerous non-seeded player like Monica Puig, Daria Gavrilova, or Eugenie Bouchard.

Also in Radwanska’s quarter is two-time champion Petra Kvitova, who opens against one of the toughest unseeded players in Sorana Cirstea. Birmingham finalist Barbora Strycova, Belinda Bencic, and Andrea Petkovic also loom. All that with the prospect of Serena in the semifinals. Not an easy task for Aga.

Angelique Kerber

Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep lead an open third quarter: Who will make it out of the wide open third quarter? Halep didn’t play any grass court lead up events, with the Romanian withdrawing from Birmingham due to a left achilles injury. Kerber reached the quarterfinals of that very event, but lost a tough three-setter to Carla Suárez Navarro after an impact schedule saw her complete two matches in one day. With question marks swirling around the top seeds in this section, look for No.9 seed Madison Keys or No.15 seed Karolina Pliskova to take advantage.

First round matches to watch: The bottom half of the draw will play on Monday and the top half on Tuesday. Here are the matches we’re already highlighting:

Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Caroline Wozniacki
Petra Kvitova vs. Sorana Cirstea
Garbiñe Muguruza vs. Camila Giorgi
Belinda Bencic vs. Tsvetana Pironkova
Laura Siegemund vs. Madison Keys
Karolina Pliskova vs. Yanina Wickmayer
Sabine Lisicki vs. Shelby Rogers
Lucie Safarova vs. Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Kiki Bertens vs. Jelena Ostapenko
Johanna Konta vs. Monica Puig
CoCo Vandeweghe vs. Kateryna Bondarenko
Dominika Cibulkova vs. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni
Nicole Gibbs vs. Kirsten Flipkens

Laura Robson

Closing Thoughts:

– A Tale of Two Careers: In 2011, it was Laura Robson who defeated a then-unknown Angelique Kerber in the first round of Wimbledon. Five years on and the two face off again and Robson is attempting to reignite her injury-plagued career against the reigning Australian Open champion.

– Hot or Cold: Players who soared in Paris who might sputter in London? French Open semifinalist Kiki Bertens is a beast on clay but has only won one match ever at Wimbledon. Similarly, Stosur has always been a threat on clay but has still never made it past the third round at Wimbledon. French Open quarterfinalist Shelby Rogers has never won a main draw match at a grass tournament.

– Most vulnerable top seeds: No.6 seed Roberta Vinci and No.7 seed Belinda Bencic. Vinci opens against a solid grass player in Alison Riske and the Italian is mired in a slump. Since February she has not won three matches at a single tournament and is on a three-match losing streak. As for Bencic, she’s still on her way back from a lower back injury that ruled her out of the clay season and picked up a thigh injury in Birmingham. She’s a top-notch player on grass, but has a tricky opening opponent in Pironkova.

– Seeds going into Wimlbedon cold: Here’s who has not played a grass court match this year: Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens, and Kiki Bertens.

Listen to more Wimbledon thoughts in the latest episode of the WTA Insider Podcast, featuring Sport360.com’s Reem Abulleil:

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The weather may have prevented a full day’s play on Wednesday at the Alya WTA Malaysian Open but the rain would not have dampened the spirits of Netherlands’ Lesley Kerkhove, who reached her first WTA quarterfinal.

The 25-year-old overcame Sabina Sharipova, 6-4, 6-4, in an hour and 19 minutes on centre court. Sharipova, 22, led 4-1 in the first set but Kerkhove was unfazed. “She didn’t make any mistakes until 4-1 but it was only one break,” she said. “I held my serve to 4-2 and then broke her back. From then on I played really aggressive, good tennis.”

Dutch qualifier Kerkhove upset No.7 seed Elise Mertens in the first round in Kuala Lumpur, 6-4, 7-6 (4), on Monday and next faces Nao Hibino, who lies 89 places higher in the WTA rankings, after the Japanese received a walkover against Elina Svitolina. However, the World No.195 said she relishes being the underdog.

“I’ve played only higher-ranked players here. I’m No.195, I’m not that high. So every player is better ranked than me. I like to be the underdog, it’s nice to play like this.”

In the opening singles match on day three, China’s Zhang Kai-Lin defeated Japan’s Risa Ozaki, 6-2, 6-4. Zhang’s impressive first serve – she won 64% of points off the back of hers in contrast to 35% for her opponent – proved decisive in her first main draw win of the year.

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Konta Registers First Wimbledon Win

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

LONDON, England – British No.1 Johanna Konta took a lengthy rain delay in her stride to overcome Monica Puig and advance to the second round of Wimbledon for the first time in her career.

Displaying the poise that has characterized her rapid rise up the tennis ladder, Konta emerged onto a gloomy No.1 Court to close out a 6-1 7-5 victory.

Konta, who led 6-1, 2-1 when rain brought Tuesday’s play to a premature conclusion, was then forced to kick her heels for a further five hours as the wait for the skies to clear continued. When they did, the No.17 seed left her best tennis in the changing rooms as Puig pocketed the first three games.

Ranked No.36 and a semifinalist last week in Eastbourne, Puig represented as tricky an opening round opponent as Konta could have drawn. The Briton, however, was in no mood to extend her stay on court any longer than strictly necessary, reasserting herself in the baseline exchanges and drawing level when Puig sent a forehand long.

A few games later the Puerto Rican was serving to stay in the match. Sensing her moment, Konta went after her returns with added gusto, launching one beyond her sprawling opponent to close out a memorable victory.  

“I’ve worked my whole life, since I was eight years old, on becoming the best tennis player I could be,” Konta said “In that sense, I’ve been doing this for 17 years, so it didn’t exactly happen from one day to the next.

“I am very, very grateful for the experiences that I’ve had in quite a condensed, short period of time. I think that I am very grateful for that, enjoying that very much. Then again, also, the previous year where I had lost in the first round here, I had played some very, very good players. I always say I’m a firm believer in accumulating experiences. I’m most certain that if I hadn’t had those experiences, I wouldn’t have been able to deal with the example of today or the last few days.”

In the second round, Konta, who is the first British woman to be seeded at Wimbledon since Jo Durie in 1984, will now face former finalist Eugenie Bouchard.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ACAPULCO, Mexico – No.2 seed Kristina Mladenovic suffered no letdown after her three hour thriller against Heather Watson, dispatching Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens, 6-4, 6-3, to reach the final four at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.

“I’m very happy,” the French star said after the match. “I had great sensations when I woke up this morning; I was very satisfied with my effort last night because the work is paying off for me to win a three and a half hour battle and wake up pretty fine. My physio did a good job as well.

“We finished very late, but the advantage of playing here in Acapulco is getting to have most of the next day to work and rest. I came out very strong and didn’t even warm-up today – just fitness after three and a half hours of tennis.”

Mladenovic recovered well from playing the second longest match of the season, hitting 21 winners to just 13 unforced errors in the 82 minute match.

“It was similar conditions today, and I think I played really good. I fixed the big problem I had on my serve yesterday, when I hit 20 double faults! Only five today! I think overall it was a great match; I had to be very consistent but also aggressive because Kirsten has a lot of variety, and it’s not easy to control her slices here.

“The ball is flying here, but I think I did a good job playing aggressive but also being patient with her tricky game. I’m just very happy to come back after yesterday’s tough win.”

The St. Petersburg champion earned big leads to start each set, winning the first three games of the match and racing out to a quick 4-0 lead to start the second set, but Flipkens – a 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist – gave Mladenovic all she could as the match headed to a dramatic conclusion.

“The first was very close, and I continued on the same path. She might have wanted to change her game at the start of the second, so she tried going for more and ended up giving me a few more unforced errors that made the difference.

“It gave me a big lead, but she kept fighting until the end, and came up with some incredible shots at the end. I had to really dig deep there, especially at 4-2 on my serve. I was in danger most of the game, but I survived and held, which was very important because had I lost serve, it would have been a different match.

“The last game wasn’t easy to close out either; I could feel like she was playing freely at that point and she was going for her shots. It’s obviously a great feeling to be in the semifinals here, especially after such an epic match. It feels like I’ve been in the office all day long.”

Up next for Mladenovic is Christina McHale, a 2014 finalist in Acapulco who ousted reigning Olympic Gold medalist Monica Puig in straight sets in the first quarterfinal. The pair last played at this very tournament, with McHale winning en route to the final.

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