Charleston: Kiki Bertens Pre-Tournament Interview
Hear from Kiki Bertens before the tournament starts.
Hear from Kiki Bertens before the tournament starts.
‘S-HERTOGENBOSCH, Netherlands – It’s never easy to face a close friend on the tennis court, and it’s even harder to do so when a final is at stake. But that’s exactly what No.3 seed Kristina Mladenovic was asked to do and she delivered in emphatic fashion, coming back from a set down to defeat Belinda Bencic 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 and reach her second career WTA final at the Ricoh Open.
Watch live action from ‘s-Hertogenbosch this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
“It feels actually quite nice to play against her,” Bencic said after the match. “Obviously we are best friends, and it’s nice because it’s quite rare that you can have your best friend on the tennis circuit.
“We obviously expected to play each other someday, but we were both prepared.”
It was a familiar situation for the pair of former Junior World No.1s: just last year in this very stage, Bencic was the one to best Mladenovic in the quarterfinals on her way to her ‘s-Hertogenbosch final appearance. This year the pair met again, with a spot in the final up for grabs.
But even that wasn’t enough to drive the best friends apart, and they indulged in the usual selfies and pre-match banter on Twitter:
Thanks for taking the nicest picture b***?? tss ? and see ya tomorowww??❤️ https://t.co/4iqiaaCYyD
— Belinda Bencic (@BelindaBencic) June 10, 2016
As soon as they stepped onto the court at the Ricoh Open, they were all business. Bencic raced through the opening set, taking it 6-2 in just 33 minutes, but nonetheless a troubling pattern emerged early on: the Swiss brought up nine break point chances and only converted on two.
In the following set, Mladenovic relied on her serve to bail her out of trouble time and time again, and her court movement began to come together. The Frenchwoman stormed back to take the second set 6-3, then completed her comeback to reach her second career WTA final. Bencic will surely rue the missed opportunities: in the last two sets, she created eight break chances and didn’t convert once.
“It was definitely a very tough match, and a very tricky one,” Mladenovic said afterward. “As probably everybody knows, Belinda is my best friend on the tour and in real life. It’s a lifetime relationship. It’s not easy.”
But Mladenovic also acknowledged that despite having her best friend on the court against her, revenge was the one thing on her mind today.
“The funny part is that we have played each other just one time, exactly one year ago right here,” she said. “It was a close match, three sets like this, and she won it. I’m just glad to have taken my revenge.”
More to come…
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— WTA (@WTA) June 11, 2016
Charleston local Shelby Rogers stunned the No.1 seed Madison Keys in three sets to move into the Volvo Car Open round of 16 for the first time.
‘S-HERTOGENBOSCH, Netherlands – CoCo Vandeweghe overcame Kristina Mladenovic and the worst of the Dutch weather to recapture the Ricoh Open on Sunday afternoon.
Watch live action from ‘s-Hertogenbosch this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Despite contending with multiple rain delays, Vandeweghe maintained her composure to break in the penultimate game and wrap up a 7-5, 7-5 victory. Vandeweghe, who also won the title in 2014, follows in the footsteps of Justine Henin and Tamarine Tanasugarn as only the third player in the tournament’s 21-year history to win it on two occasions.
After serving herself out of trouble on more than one occasion, Vandeweghe produced a couple of smart backhand returns to manufacture the decisive break in the penultimate game of the second. A lengthy downpour stalled her momentum, and on the resumption she fell a break behind.
The American reached the final without dropping the set and maintained her flawless record by reeling off the final four games of the match.
“It was actually really difficult – we had three rain delay stops – so it was really difficult to get yourself back into the match and make sure you’re fresh and light and ready to go. Especially the last rain delay in he first set. I was really trying to get myself moving,” Vandeweghe said.
“I got myself in a bit of a pickle in the second set, but I battled my way out of it, and sometimes the name of the game is just battling through adversity and problems you cause for yourself.”
More to follow…
The 2017 Aces For Humanity campaign was launched by USANA and the WTA at the BNP Paribas Open and continued at the Volvo Car Open, where every ace hit by a WTA player at Premier-level events translates into a donation to the USANA True Health Foundation, whose mission is to provide the most critical human necessities to those who are suffering or in need around the world.
For every ace hit by any player the WTA donates $5, and for every ace hit by a USANA Brand Ambassador, it’s $10.
USANA Brand Ambassadors Caroline Wozniacki, Eugenie Bouchard, Monica Puig and Zheng Saisai hit 10 of the 224 aces in Charleston – raising a grand total of $2,560 throughout the week. Wozniacki hit the most with six aces.
Read more about the campaign here and see below to find out who’s hit the most aces so far!
#AcesForHumanity Fan Giveaway
It’s simple: before each WTA Premier tournament guess how many total aces will be hit.
Next up is the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. Last year there was a total of 147 aces hit. It’s now your turn, take your best guess of how many will be hit this year.
How To Enter:
• Follow @WTA and @USANAFoundation on Twitter and before each WTA Premier tournament tweet the number of aces you predict will be hit during the whole tournament (Singles, Main Draw)
• Include the hashtag #AcesForHumanity
• Beijing deadline is April 25 at 11:59pm ET
• The winner will be announced May 1st
Aces For Humanity is a joint WTA and USANA initiative that benefits the USANA True Health Foundation, which provides critical human necessities to those in suffering or in need around the globe.
For full rules on how to enter, click here.
Kristyna Pliskova served up another comprehensive victory, ousting Croatia’s Donna Vekic in straight sets to roll into her second WTA quarterfinal of the season.
Serena Williams is expecting her first child with fiancé Alexis Ohanian, her representatives confirmed.
After a since-deleted photo was posted early this morning on her Snapchat captioned “20 weeks”, Serena’s representatives have now confirmed the news that the 23-time Grand Slam champion is pregnant.
“I’m happy to confirm Serena is expecting a baby this Fall,” her publicist confirmed to the WTA, adding that Serena will not play again in 2017 but aims to be back in action in 2018.
Last December, Serena announced her engagement to Reddit co-founder Ohanian last year in a poem posted to the platform.
STUTTGART, Germany — Defending champion Angelique Kerber is the top seed this week as the WTA’s elite slide into the red clay at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. A two-time winner in her home country, Kerber is joined in the top 8 seeds by fellow former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, as eight of the WTA top 10 are competing in Stuttgart.
Check out the Stuttgart stories of the top 8 seeds and others who’ll be unseeded and looming in the German city this week:
1. Angelique Kerber (GER)
6th appearance (13-3)
Best result: CHAMPION (2015, 2016)
2. Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
2nd appearance (2-1)
Best result: QF (2016)
3. Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)
5th appearance (0-4)
Best result: R32 (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012)
4. Simona Halep (ROU)
4th appearance (2-3)
Best result: SF (2015)
5. Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP)
3rd appearance (2-2)
Best result: QF (2016)
6/WC. Johanna Konta (GBR)
3rd appearance (0-2)
Best result: R32 (2014, 2016)
7. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
10th appearance (13-9)
Best result: SF (2011, 2012, 2016)
8. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)
8th appearance (14-6)
Best result: CHAMPION (2009)
More…
Samantha Stosur (AUS)
6th appearance (9-5)
Best result: F (2010)
Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP)
6th appearance (7-5)
Best result: QF (2014, 2015, 2016)
Maria Sharapova (RUS)
5th appearance (13-1)
Best result: CHAMPION (2012, 2013, 2014)
Teenager Dayana Yastremska scored her first WTA victory from a set down over Andrea Petkovic on the first day of play at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup.
EASTBOURNE, Great Britain – Aegon International winner Dominika Cibulkova not only returned to the Top 20 with her second title of 2016, but the former Australian Open runner-up also cracked the Top 8 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard, leapfrogging Mutua Madrid Open conqueror Simona Halep and Aegon Classic champion Madison Keys to begin the Wimbledon fortnight ranked No.7.
“Right now I’m not thinking about it,” the Slovak told WTA Insider in the latest edition of Champions Corner. “In 2014 I was very close, and that’s what made me very intense and want it too much. I was over-motivated and it didn’t happen. So, I’m not thinking about it.
“It’s really far and I want to learn from my mistakes and really enjoy what I’m doing on the court. I’m really happy right now on the court, and when I’m playing free is when I’m at my best.”
Finishing second to Cibulkova on Saturday, Pliskova reached her second final of the grass court season – having already won the Aegon Open in Nottingham – and moved up four spots to No.15 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard.
Veteran Elena Vesnina and young gun Jelena Ostapenko each moved within spitting distance of the RTS Top 20; the 2013 champion lost to Pliskova in a rain-affected quarterfinal and moved up four spots to No.23, while the former Wimbledon junior champion moved up two spots to No.24 after losing to the eventual champion in the second round
RTS Ranking Movers
Dominika Cibulkova: No.12 to No.7 (+5)
Karolina Pliskova: No.19 to No.15 (+4)
Elena Vesnina: No.27 to No.23 (+4)
Jelena Ostapenko: No.26 to No.24 (+2)