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WTA Stars Shine At Opening Ceremony

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

RIO DE JANIERO, Brazil – Friday saw the curtain raised on the XXXI Olympiad with a colorful opening ceremony at the magnificent Maracana stadium.

Broadcast to an audience of over three billion, it celebrated Brazil’s culture, history and nature, before former marathon runner Vanderlei de Lima lit the Olympic cauldron. The WTA was well represented on the night, with Caroline Wozniacki carrying in the flag for Denmark.

But what were Wozniacki and company up to before, during and after the show?

However, with many in the singles and doubles draws beginning their tournament the following morning, not everyone could enjoy the festivities…

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – No.2 seed Serena Williams put together some high-quality tennis against Lucie Safarova to make her way to the third round and avoid the upset bug sweeping through the Australian Open on Thursday night.

Even to her own high standards, her 6-3, 6-4 victory in the pair’s rematch of their French Open final was impressive, which explains why Serena didn’t have much patience for anyone finding fault in her performance.

Case in point, here’s an exchange between the six-time Australian Open champion and a reporter at her post-match press conference:

Q. Looked a little bit of a scrappy performance. A few more unforced errors, a few double-faults.
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think that’s a very negative thing to say. Are you serious?

Q. Just my observation.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, you should have been out there. That wasn’t very kind. You should apologize. Do you want to apologize?

Q. I do. I’m sorry.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Thank you very much. That was a great performance. I played well. She’s a former Top 10 player. The last time we played together was in the finals of a Grand Slam.

You know, it’s not an easy match. She’s a really good player. You have to go for more, which obviously makes a few more errors.

So, yeah, I think it was overall a really good match, on both of our ends.

Moral of the story: Don’t tell Serena Williams she played badly. Especially when she played great.

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – Revenge is the name of the game on Day 5 at the Australian Open: No.7 seed Garbiñe Muguruza is set to face Anastasija Sevastova, who sent her crashing out in the second round of last year’s US Open. Also in action is World No.1 Angelique Kerber, taking on another big-serving Czech, while Svetlana Kuznetsova and Jelena Jankovic are facing off for the 14th time in their careers.

We preview all the day’s biggest matchups right here on wtatennis.com.

Friday, Third Round

[32] Anastasija Sevastova (LAT #33) vs [7] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #7)
Head-to-head: Series tied at 1-1
Key Stat: Muguruza (No.3) is the highest ranked player Sevastova has ever defeated

When Anastasija Sevastova had her big breakthrough at last year’s US Open, Garbiñe Muguruza was the first one to find out. Then ranked No.48, the Latvian stunned Muguruza in the second round en route to the quarterfinals, her best showing ever at a Grand Slam.

Though the Spaniard eventually got her revenge at the Toray Pan Pacific Open, seeing Sevastova’s name in her corner of the draw has to sting. But this time she comes into the matchup with building rhythm and a pair of hard-fought victories under her belt.

“Honestly, I think every match is completely different,” Muguruza told press after her straight-sets victory over Samantha Crawford. “For sure it helps [having two matches under my belt].

“But my next round is a tricky match, I look forward for it. It helped me, playing two matches. I’m going to try to use that.”

Svetlana Kuznetsova

Jelena Jankovic (SRB #54) vs [8] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #10)
Head-to-head: Jankovic leads 8-6
Key Stat: Jankovic holds the longest active streak for consecutive Grand Slam main draw appearances (53)

Svetlana Kuznetsova faces her first big test in this Australian Open in the form of long-time rival Jelena Jankovic. Having dropped a combined four games across her previous two matches, Kuznetsova has eased into the third round and conserved precious energy under the draining Aussie summer sun.

But that joyride will get much tougher against fellow WTA veteran and former World No.1 Jankovic as they square up for the 15th time in their careers. Jankovic holds the edge in their head-to-head record at 8-6, but their last match came in 2015 and with Kuznetsova now back inside the Top 10, the Russian is looking to narrow the gap between them.

“My career has been… too long!” Kuznetsova reflected in an on-court interview. “I’ve only been to Australia like 17 times, each January. I just enjoy the game, I have passion for it and still it’s great.”

Angelique Kerber

[1] Angelique Kerber (GER #1) vs Kristyna Pliskova (CZE #58)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Kerber is bidding to be the first player to defend her Australian Open title since Azarenka in 2012-2013

Angelique Kerber is set to face down the booming Pliskova serve once again, but this time it’s not the one she’s used to seeing. Her third-round opponent is Kristyna Pliskova, twin sister of World No.5 Karolina Pliskova.

Apart from the famously powerful serve that runs in the family, it’ll be a whole different match for Kerber. For one, Kristyna is a lefty (Karolina is right-handed) and, ranked No.58, Kristyna has never reached the same heights that her twin has achieved in her career. Without that giant-killing experience under her belt, it’ll be a tough ask for the Czech to complete the huge upset on Rod Laver Arena.

“I don’t know if it’s weird,” Kerber contemplated the prospect of playing against twins. “I mean, [Karolina] is right and [Kristyna] is left-handed. So this is the difference.

“I know that she has a great serve, as well. So, yeah, will looking forward to play against her.”

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