Lucic-Baroni Survives Epic Krunic Encounter In Charleston
No.11 seed Mirjana Lucic-Baroni outlasted Aleksandra Krunic to ease into the second round of the Volvo Car Open in Charleston.
No.11 seed Mirjana Lucic-Baroni outlasted Aleksandra Krunic to ease into the second round of the Volvo Car Open in Charleston.
MIAMI, FL, USA – 2012 Miami champion Agnieszka Radwanska battled through Saturday’s intense heat and humidity to swat aside Madison Brengle for a spot in the Miami Open fourth round.
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The match, which started just after midday on one of the balmiest days in Key Biscayne, proved to be as much of a test of fitness as it was a test of Brengle and Radwanska’s tennis.
“Today was really hot. And yes, we both kind of have to get used to [the humidity],” Radwanska said after the match. “Today was a really tough day, and I knew that since this morning.
“You just try everything to stay cool, especially during the changeovers.”
It was Brengle, the unseeded American making her Miami third round debut, who kept her cool first, breaking Radwanska’s serve early and consolidating for a 3-1 lead.
But her efforts weren’t enough to trouble the World No.2, who quickly got the break back and leveled the score. A handful of well-crafted points finished at the net gave Radwanska the advantage, and she grabbed the next three games to take the set.
First set ? @ARadwanska!
Grabs the opening set vs Brengle 6-3! #WTA https://t.co/RuGGFrCWxZ
— WTA (@WTA) March 26, 2016
The pair hung tight to start off the second set, trading holds and breaks of serve for 2-2. But the heavy conditions began to take their toll on the American, whose shots misfired on the important points allowing Radwanska to rattle off four straight games for a comfortable win, 6-4, 6-2.
Radwanska is into the Miami fourth round for the eighth time in her career, and she’s seeking to extend her impressive run of reaching the semifinals or better in eight of her last nine events, a streak dating back to October of last year.
Though after an hour and 13 minutes in this intense heat, Radwanska is looking forward to a more immediate reward:
“One second after the match point, all I’m thinking is: the ice bath!”
Aga Radwanska? More like Aga Rad-WIN-ska.
She moves on after winning straight sets against Madison Brengle. #MiamiOpen
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 26, 2016
Radwanska’s opponent in the fourth round is Timea Bacsinszky, who took a big step on her road to regaining her 2015 form by downing No.16 seed Ana Ivanovic, 7-5, 6-4.
In a see-saw opening, Ivanovic recovered from losing four games on the trot to hold a set point at 5-4. However, a wild forehand let Bacsinszky off the hook as the momentum swung again. The following game, the former World No.1 wavered, double faulting to surrender her serve and ultimately the set.
After struggling at the start of the year, Bacsinszky has been quietly playing herself into form in recent weeks, reaching the last 16 in Doha and Indian Wells, and despite a late rally from Ivanovic she held on the extend this streak.
Also advancing in this quarter were Simona Halep and Heather Watson. No.5 seed Halep withstood some early resistance before easing past Julia Goerges, 6-4, 6-1, while Watson dug deep to overcome Yanina Wickmayer, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, in a match lasting over two and a half hours.
Petra Kvitova takes on Wang Yafan in the second round of the China Open.
Laura Siegemund takes on Venus Williams in the second round of the Volvo Car Open.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Looking to become the first woman since Kim Clijsters in 2005 to win the Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine” Double, Victoria had few issues on Easter Sunday as she breezed past Magda Linette, 6-3, 6-0.
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Azarenka enjoyed her big breakthrough in Miami back in 2009, upsetting World No.1 Serena Williams in the final for the first of four victories in her rivalry with the 21-time Grand Slam champion. Linette reached the third round after a right shoulder injury forced former No.1 Jelena Jankovic to retire from their match just five points into the contest, and struggled to combat the Belarusian’s firepower in difficult conditions – hitting only nine winners to 14 from the No.13 seed.
As a cool breeze swept through Crandon Park late in the second set, so too did Azarenka, who raced through the ultimate stages of the match without losing a game, wraping up the victory in 70 minutes.
“It was only in the last two games, but it feels much better with a little bit of wind and breeze,” she told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “I hope you guys are enjoying the tennis; I know it’s really hot but stay hydrated!”
In the midst of a career renaissance, Azarenka has already captured two titles in 2016 en route to a much-anticipated return to the Top 10; with another win over Williams at the BNP Paribas Open – her first since 2013 – to capture her first Premier Mandatory title since 2012 (Beijing), Azarenka is eligible to become the third different woman to capture the elusive “Sunshine Double” by winning both Indian Wells and Miami in succession.
But from her post-match comments, it’s clear she is taking things one match at a time, refusing to underestimate any player across the net.
“She’s a grinder and whenever she has opportunity, she will take it; she has a lot of great hands and showed a lot of variety. She’s a young player with such a bright future, but I’m glad that I took advantage and I stayed on top of her.
“Playing in a tournament like Miami, you don’t expect players to give up and not try, whatever the scoreline is,” she added after the match in her press conference.
“I just wanted to stay aggressive, keep going for all my shots, and also not give her an opportunity to come back. Because once you do that, anybody can come back. I’m happy that I stayed focused. I took my opportunities and kept applying pressure.”
Up next for Azarenka is No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza who raced past American Nicole Gibbs, 6-1, 6-0. Azarenka has yet to play the Spaniad on the WTA circuit.
“I don’t know if I’m going to be watching the match,” she told members of the media. “Maybe a little bit. I’m sure my coach will. That’s more important for him to watch for me.
“We’ll see. I don’t like to predict who I want to play. I don’t care. But I don’t know, whoever wins, I’m going to play.”
First set ? @Vika7 Azarenka!
Grabs the opening set vs Linette 6-3! #WTA https://t.co/Jkcx8hCpu7
— WTA (@WTA) March 27, 2016
An interview with Karolina Pliskova after her win in the second round of the China Open.
Check out Alizé Cornet’s shot of the day against Donna Vekic at the Abierto BNP Seguros.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Who is the lowest-ranked player left in Miami? Whose famous footsteps is Serena Williams looking to follow? And how many hours has the indefatigable Irina-Camelia Begu spent on court?
With the field at the Miami Open now whittled down to 16, wtatennis.com and SAP thought it time to go looking for answers…
381 – Irina-Camelia Begu has spent 381 minutes on court thus far, more than any other player in the tournament.
69 – World No.69 Heather Watson is the only player left in the draw ranked outside the Top 50.
21 – At 21 years old, Madison Keys is the youngest player left in the draw. It is the first time in the tournament’s 32-year history a teenager has failed to make it to the fourth round.
20 – Serena Williams is on a 20-match winning streak going into her encounter with Svetlana Kuznetsova; her last loss came to Caroline Wozniacki in the 2012 quarterfinals.
15 – Fifteen of the 16 remaining in the draw have won a WTA singles title. The odd one out is Johanna Konta, who, at No.24, is also the highest-ranked player on tour not to have reached the winner’s circle.
11 – The number of different nationalities represented in the fourth round – Romania leads the way with three players.
10 – Ten of the remaining players have never reached the quarterfinals in Miami (Timea Babos, Timea Bacsinszky, Begu, Keys, Konta, Ekaterina Makarova, Garbiñe Muguruza, Monica Niculescu, Elina Svitolina, Watson)
9 – Eight-time Miami champion Serena Williams remains on course to become only the third player to lift the same WTA even nine times or more, after Martina Navratilova (Chicago, Eastbourne, Wimbledon, Washington, Dallas) and Steffi Graf (Berlin).
8 – Eight of the of leading 16 seeds reached their appointed fourth-round slots.
7 – Of the players left in the draw, seven have been ranked either No.1 or No.2.
5 – The No.1 seed has reached the quarterfinals (or better) in each of the past five years – Caroline Wozniacki was the last to fail, losing to Andrea Petkovic in the fourth round in 2011. The top seed has lifted the title on 13 occasions.
4 – Four former champions are still in contention: Williams (2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015), Kuznetsova (2006), Victoria Azarenka (2009, 2011) and Agnieszka Radwanska (2012).
3 – For the third straight year, three unseeded players have made it through to the last 16: Babos, Begu and Watson.
2 – Azarenka remains on course to complete the Indian Wells-Miami double. Graf (1994, 1996) and Kim Clijsters (2005) are the only players to achieve the feat.
1 – Watson received one of the tournament’s eight wildcards; only once in the past five years has a wildcard failed to reach the last 16 in Miami.
0 – Konta and Watson are bidding to become the first British player to reach the quarterfinals in Miami. Jo Durie (1988) also reached the fourth round.
BEIJING, China – No.8 seed Madison Keys completed a spectacular comeback against Svetlana Kuznetsova to become the first to advance to the quarterfinals of the China Open.
Watch live action from Beijing on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Down 2-5 in the first set and facing set point, Keys rallied to turn the match around and win 7-6(2), 6-2 in an hour and thirty-six minutes.
Keys is one of several players on the Singapore bubble, wrestling for a spot in her first BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. She even can qualify this week as long as she reaches the final in Beijing; she took one step closer tonight against Kuznetsova.
“Some days I use it as my motivation to try harder, but sometimes it makes me more nervous and puts pressure on me,” Keys told WTA Insider of her potential to qualify for Singapore.
“I’m that close, I want to put myself in the best position possible and be able to walk away, whether I qualify or not, knowing that I did everything I could to get there.”
But Singapore looked a long ways away when Kuznetsova broke Keys’ serve to start out the match, keeping the American on the run and returning deep into the court to leave her opponent scrambling. Some loose forehands have Kuznetsova a second break for a 5-2 lead, and suddenly Kuznetsova was serving for the set.
The Russian held a set point and looked set to close it out, but a pair of double faults put Keys right back in it and the American ripped a backhand down the line to begin her comeback.
“I was 5-2 up and serving for the set two times, but then in a couple games Madison went for her shots and she made them,” Kuznetsova said after the match. “There was a couple of netcords unlucky, too, and then the game was equal.”
“She got her game on, and I lost mine, a little bit. That’s basically what changed.”
Keys broke back once more to level the match at 5-5 and the pair held firm to send the match into a tiebreak, where Keys allowed Kuznetsova just two points on her way to clinching the opening set.
“It just seemed like I was trying to figure out her serve and how she was playing, but I wasn’t executing well,” Keys explained to WTA Insider. “I was maybe just going for too much on my shots.”
“I just – well, I just told myself a bad word and said, ‘Get it together!’ And after that I played a good game and got some confidence back.”
The American broke Kuznetsova three more times in the second set to complete her comeback, taking the first spot in the quarterfinals.
Keys’ road to the Beijing final won’t get any easier, though; she will face Wuhan champion Petra Kvitova for a shot at the China Open semifinals after the Czech swept past defending champion Garbiñe Muguruza later in the day.
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni takes on Shelby Rogers in the quarterfinals of the Volvo Car Open.