Suárez Navarro Sidelined By Shoulder Injury
Carla Suárez Navarro will be away from the competition for a few weeks nursing a right shoulder injury, the Spaniard announced in a Facebook message to her fans.
Carla Suárez Navarro will be away from the competition for a few weeks nursing a right shoulder injury, the Spaniard announced in a Facebook message to her fans.
DOHA, Qatar – Jelena Ostapenko sprung the latest shock at this year’s Qatar Total Open, battling back to knock out No.5 seed Petra Kvitova.
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Seeds have been falling like dominoes in the opening few rounds and Kvitova’s 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 defeat means that just four of the original 16 remain.
At last year’s Wimbledon, Ostapenko defeated Carla Suárez Navarro in a coming of age performance, imbuing her with the confidence to topple even bigger names. “It gave me kind of confidence that I can play at that level,” Ostapenko said when reminded afterwards of her win over the Spaniard. “Today, I’m just happy that I could play my best tennis.”
Kvitova started brightly enough, recovering from 3-1 down to take the opening set. But as the contest wore on, the Czech cut an increasingly passive figure on the court, spending more and more time pinned behind the baseline.
Ostapenko, meanwhile, continued to exhibit the fleet-footedness befitting a former ballroom dancer; at 2-2 in the second set she flew across the court to unleash a fizzing forehand that left Kvitova grounded and, more importantly, a break down.
The two-time Wimbledon champion did not win another game until midway through the decider and by that point the tide had well and truly turned. Showing no sign of nerves, the young Latvian confidently cruised to victory, breaking Kvitova for an eighth and final time.
Ostapenko’s positivity was born out in the numbers, outlanding the Czech 28 to 16 in the winners count. “I play more matches, get some wins and I think [confidence] comes from there,” Ostapenko added.
Her reward for this incredible performance is a meeting with another of the draw’s giant slayers, Zheng Saisai, who followed up her victory over top seed Angelique Kerber by knocking out Eugenie Bouchard, 7-6(1), 6-1.
“She’s had some really great wins this week,” Ostapenko said when asked about her quarterfinal foe. “I’m looking forward to it and hopefully we can have a great match.”
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.
Timea Bacsinszky had the shot of the match in the third round at the Qatar Total Open.
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.”
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.”
[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.”
DOHA, Qatar – Co-No.1 doubles team Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza had not lost a match since last August at the Western & Southern Open, but their 41-match winning streak came to a sudden halt at the hands of Russian duo Elena Vesnina and Daria Kasatkina, 2-6, 6-4, 10-5.
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An accomplished doubles player, Vesnina won her most recent Grand Slam doubles title over Hingis at the 2014 US Open, when the Swiss Miss was still partnered with Flavia Pennetta. That script would flip in dramatic fashion less than a year later at Wimbledon after Hingis paired up with Mirza; the two roared back from a 2-5 final set deficit to beat Vesnina and longtime partner Ekaterina Makarova for their first major title.
“That was an amazing match for us,” Vesnina said after the match. “We played against them just a week ago, and they’re one of the greatest doubles teams we have in women’s tennis. I think everything worked today for us to win, and we’re just so excited about it.
“We changed our tactics a little bit in the second set, and we saw that it started to work. We stuck to this game plan, and were a little bit lucky on some points, but it’s always like this in doubles with deciding points. Dasha played really well on key moments. She just went for her shots and made a lot of good volleys today, so we’re really pleased and proud about this win.”
“It’s unbelievable for me,” Kasatkina added, “something huge because it’s just my third WTA doubles tournament and we beat Sania and Martina. For me, it’s something unbelievable.”
Santina’s historic streak began two months after their Wimbledon triumph at the US Open, which would be the first of nine straight titles as a team, including the China Open, the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, the Apia International Sydney, a third major title at the Australian Open and, most recently, the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy – where they beat Vesnina and Kasatkina in straight sets in the quarterfinals.
“We were surprised that so many people came to watch,” Vesnina said. “The court was packed; most of the people were cheering for Martina and Sania, which is normal. It actually worked well for us; we were enjoying this atmosphere on the court. It felt like we were playing a final.”
“It was a full house!” Kasatkina said with a laugh.
Had they won a 10th title in Doha, Hingis and Mirza would have tied Jana Novotna and Natasha Zvereva for the longest winning streak since 1990 at 44 match wins, but still had a ways to go before catching Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver, who amassed 109 straight matches between 1983 and 1985.
So that's how the cookie crumbled .. just kiddin.Hehe.. We'll be back stronger than before?#SanTina #4⃣1⃣✔️ @mhingis pic.twitter.com/1uKpPT8Wks
— Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania) February 25, 2016
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova faced Elina Svitolina in the third round of the Australian Open, looking to pull off an upset.
ACAPULCO, Mexico – Dominika Cibulkova is back into the Abierto Mexicano Telcel final for a second time after a comfortable win over Christina McHale, 6-3, 6-3.
“This is the first time in my career that I’m in the final of a tournament that I’ve won before,” Cibulkova said. “I won this tournament two years ago. And now coming here this year, I’m in the final now. It’s a great feeling.”
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In a rematch of their 2014 final in Acapulco – which saw the Slovak raise the trophy after a fierce battle, 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4 – Cibulkova took command early, dictating with her blistering forehand and not facing a break point all first set. She kept the heat on McHale, playing inside the court and returning well to force the first break of the match at 4-2, then breaking her again for the set at 6-3.
Cibulkova took advantage of a pair of McHale double faults to go up yet another break to start out the second set, but the American took it back a few games later, leaving them toe-to-toe at 3-3. After that McHale couldn’t find her way back into the match at all, and Cibulkova took the next three games to close out the match.
She’ll face Sloane Stephens in the next round, which will be her first final since 2014 and a major milestone on her road back from injury. Last year, she was sidelined for over four months due to an Achilles injury.
“It feels like everything is coming together now,” Cibulkova said after the match. “I’ve practiced really hard and I had some tough matches this year. Now I just feel like I’m playing well and finally I get to the final. I’m so happy it’s here in Acapulco again.
“I’m ready. I’m healthy, I’m ready, and I’m playing good tennis. So we’ll see what’s going to happen.”
Venus Williams took on Duan Ying Ying in the third round of the Australian Open.
DOHA, Qatar – Carla Suárez Navarro produced 62 minutes of immaculate tennis to swat aside No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska and take her place in the final of the Qatar Total Open.
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In one of the best performances of her career, Suárez Navarro outthought and outplayed the WTA’s resident magician to run out a surprisingly comfortable 6-2, 6-0 winner.
After an even start, Suárez Navarro laid down a marker in the fifth game, flashing winners off either wing to get her nose in front. A few games later she had the insurance break before calmly serving out the set.
A nasty tumble in the first game of the second set briefly halted the Spaniard’s charge. But after dusting herself down, normal service was immediately resumed: a whipped cross-court forehand and then a wonderful instinctive volley handing her the break.
In stark contrast, Radwanska cut a forlorn figure, the brilliance that decorated her three-set victory over Roberta Vinci the previous evening conspicuous by its absence. The Pole’s mood darkened in the following game when she netted a routine forehand to spurn a rare break opportunity.
With Suárez Navarro’s groundstrokes now in full flow, Radwanska was soon put out of her misery, the final four games flying by in a flurry of winners.
“Today I feel really, really good,” Suárez Navarro, who hit 20 winners and just eight unforced errors, said. “I think also she was a little tired from yesterday.”
Suárez Navarro is also hoping to reach the doubles final with partner Sara Errani, and was quick to dismiss any suggestion that her visit from the trainer would jeopardize their chances. “I’m running a lot, I fight a lot, and sometime I finish like that,” she said when asked about the after effects of her second set slip. “But now I feel good and I have doubles – I’m feeling better!”
By reaching the semifinals Suárez Navarro guaranteed a return to the Top 10 and her latest win will see her rise to a career-high No.6 in the new rankings.
“You work for a long time for this. And to be in the Top 10 is obviously good. I feel good, I feel happy and I think I’m ready for tomorrow.”