Charleston: Venus Williams Pre-Tournament Interview
Hear from Venus Williams before the start of the tournament.
Hear from Venus Williams before the start of the tournament.
MADRID, Spain – Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu backed up her win over 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard with an even bigger result, toppling No.3 seed and 2015 Wimbledon runner-up Garbiñe Muguruza, 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3, to reach the third round of the Mutua Madrid Open.
Watch live action from Madrid this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Begu needed three sets to battle past Bouchard on Sunday, and things hardly differed on Monday night against Muguruza; despite leading 5-2 in each of the first two sets, the hometown favorite battled back each time – saving three set points at 5-3 in the second – to take the opening set and get within four points of victory in the second set tie-break.
“I was a little bit disappointed in my game when I was leading; I wouldn’t be as aggressive as I was before,” Begu said about her lost leads after the match. “My coach told me I’m really close, and really playing well. I just had to keep fighting for every ball, and that was the key.”
The Romanian, however, wouldn’t be denied; becoming something of a marathon woman – winning her last six three-setters reaching the quarterfinals of the Volvo Car Open with a trio of grueling matches – Begu recovered from a mini-break down to level the match and lead by a break in the decider.
“In Spain and especially in Madrid, there are a lot of Romanians, so I think it was 50/50!” Begu laughed when asked about the crowd support. “It’s tough to play a local player, and especially against Garbiñe, one of the best players. I was ready for this match, and I think that was the key as well.”
Muguruza hit 39 winners in the two hour and 42 minute epic, and managed to draw level once more, but Begu swept three of the final four games, hitting 30 winners of her own and only 34 unforced errors to 42 from the World No.4.
“I think I could have started better, but I managed to come back,” Muguruza said in her post-loss press conference. “I managed to fight and find my game.
“But I think it has been a very good game. I think she played pretty well. I played against Begu before and I think that today she played much better than previous times.
“I think that she served very well. I had to fight everything that I can, but just didn’t go my way this time.”
Up next for Begu is Christina McHale, who began the day with a win over No.13 seed Karolina Pliskova in straight sets.
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Few can claim to be a more voracious reader than Andrea Petkovic, and the German sat down with Joel Drucker of Tennis Channel at the Volvo Car Open this week to put her skills to the ultimate test.
Petkovic, who is as much a Renaissance woman as she is a professional athlete, has a well-rounded range of interests that span from art and music to literature, which she called her escape in the sit-down with Drucker following her first round victory in Charleston.
“Some people escape with drugs and alcohol. For me, it’s literature,” the 29-year-old said.
The 2014 Volvo Car Open champion often gives followers and fans a glimpse into her eclectic world off the court on social media, whether it be by documenting visits to museums in her world travels, quoting Robert Frost on her Twitter account — or taking a book into the ice bath at the US Open.
Four of the German’s favorites authors — Ernest Hemingway, Saul Bellow, Friedrich Nietzsche and Leo Tolstoy — span generations and have few peers in the realm of literature, but just who would they be like if they picked up a racquet?
On Hemingway…
“He plays short points – really likes to go to net. Definitely would chip-charge. He’s tall, handsome – much like Patrick Rafter.”
On Bellow…
“He hits big, powerful shots – like Alexander Zverev. He’s a spectacular, hard-hitting player who loves the big sentence and brings lots of philosophical insight.”
On Nietzsche…
“He’s like Ivan Lendl. He’ll grind it out. He likes to suffer.”
On Tolstoy…
“A percentage player. He always plays the right shot – a baseliner, sort of like Caroline Wozniacki. Just a terrific all-around player.”
Stay tuned for part two from Tennis Channel, coming soon as the former World No.9 compares some of tennis’ greats, along with her peers and compatriots, to some of history’s best authors.
April was defined by three breakthrough players who brought some impressive performances on and off the court. Which one soared the highest?
Have a look at the nominees for April’s Breakthrough Performance of the Month and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, May 6.
April 2016 WTA Breakthrough Performance of the Month Finalists:
Laura Siegemund: In the midst of a breakthrough season, Siegemund announced herself to the tennis world in a big way at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, where she reached the finals as a qualifier. Brushing past the likes of Simona Halep, Roberta Vinci, and Agnieszka Radnwaks – all in straight sets – the German veteran who wrote a thesis on the psychology of athletes’ mental strength showed impressive grit and determination to ride the wave of momentum and home support into her first WTA singles final. Should she maintain her No.4 standing in her country’s race to the Olympic Games, she could well qualify for Rio by the French Open.
Cagla Buyukakcay: Speaking of hometown favorites, Cagla Buyukakcay made Turkish history in front of an enthusiastic Istanbul crowd to win the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup. All in one week, Buyukakcay became the first Turkish woman to reach a WTA semifinal, final, and title at the expense of Danka Kovinic in three grueling sets. The result helped her crack the Top 100 for the first time in her career, and guarantee a Wimbledon main draw debut later this year.
Irina Falconi: Falconi had an emotional run of her own at the Claro Open Colsanitas, taking out clay court specialist Lara Arruabarrena to win her first career WTA title at 25 years old. A former college star at Georgia Tech, Falconi’s win came on the heels of a devestating earthquake that ravaged her birthplace of Portoviejo, Ecuador. Vowing to do all she can to help, the American has already raised over $20,000 in relief money.
2016 Winners:
January: Zhang Shuai
February: Jelena Ostapenko
March: Nicole Gibbs
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
Caroline Garcia has Wednesday’s shot of the day at the Abierto GNP Seguros.
NEW YORK, NY, USA – Every spring the Costume Institute at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art puts on a new fashion exhibit, and with it there’s a brand new themed party: the Met Gala. It’s probably one of the flashiest – and most exclusive – red carpet events of the year, and WTA stars Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki were right in the thick of it.
Hosted by Vogue editor Anna Wintour, this year’s theme was “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology,” and Sharapova and Wozniacki chose red as their as their color for the night. Sharapova enlisted Colombian designer Juan Carlos Obando, and Wozniacki wore Prabal Gurung.
Here’s some of the best pictures of their red carpet arrivals, courtesy of Getty Images:
MONTERREY, Mexico – Top seed and World No.1 Angelique Kerber reached her fourth quarterfinal of 2017 on Thursday, closing out the night session and a big-hitting Mandy Minella, 6-1, 6-3 at the Abierto GNP Seguros.
“It was a good match from me,” she said after the match. “I played very well, and was able to play aggressively from the first point. I enjoyed the match tonight.”
Crafty lob from @AngeliqueKerber! ? pic.twitter.com/vCBZcBAeTc
— WTA (@WTA) April 7, 2017
Minella has enjoyed a stellar start to the season, reaching the semifinals at the Taiwan Open and earning an impressive win over Kristyna Pliskova at the Miami Open, but came up against a firing Kerber in Monterrey.
The German dropped just three points behind her first serve and didn’t face a break point all match, converting four of the eight she earned on the reigning Bol Open winner.
Kerber has slowly recovered from a tough first quarter, reaching the semifinals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and the quarterfinals in Miami, and is still looking for her first title of the year.
Up next for World No.1 is defending champion Heather Watson, who enjoyed a strong win over Ekaterina Makarova, 6-4, 6-1, earlier in the day.
Just too good from @AngeliqueKerber ? ? pic.twitter.com/My4Mjv1H4O
— WTA (@WTA) April 7, 2017
“I think it’ll be a good match; she won here last year and is the defending champion, so she knows the court and venue.
“I think I’ll have to play like today, play my game. I’m looking forward to playing against her.”
.@AngeliqueKerber races past Minella 6-1, 6-3!
Sets @Abierto_GNP Quarterfinal vs defending champ @HeatherWatson92! pic.twitter.com/hOrRPIwXRj
— WTA (@WTA) April 7, 2017
All photos courtesy of Abierto GNP Seguros.
MADRID, Spain – Last year, the biggest names in women’s tennis put down their phones and pulled their best faces in the first ever WTA Emoji Challenge.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Madrid right here on wtatennis.com!
This week, they’re at it again at the Mutua Madrid Open; co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza join reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber, Sunshine Double winner Victoria Azarenka, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep, Garbiñe Muguruza, Petra Kvitova, Roberta Vinci, Carla Suárez Navarro, and Sloane Stephens to have some fun, flex some muscle, and imitate some of the newest and most memorable textual expressions.
How do they fare? Check out the video and some of the best pictures from the Second Annual WTA Emoji Challenge:
Sania Mirza & Martina Hingis
Simona Halep
Garbiñe Muguruza
Sloane Stephens
Roberta Vinci
Carla Suárez Navarro
Agnieszka Radwanska
Angelique Kerber
Victoria Azarenka
Petra Kvitova
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – If Caroline Wozniacki scores just one more victory at the Volvo Car Open and defeats World No.66 Jelena Ostapenko, she’ll be rewarded with more than just a spot in the Charleston semifinals: she’ll be projected to break back into the Top 10 when the new WTA rankings come out, a happy ending to what has been an absolute rollercoaster last few years.
Wozniacki got her first taste of the Top 10 back in 2009, and has been a mainstay at the top of the rankings for the majority of her career – including a stint at World No.1, a ranking she held for 67 weeks.
In fact, from 2009 to 2014 she finished each year inside the Top 10, and her six year run had been the WTA’s longest active streak.
But a struggle with injuries and recovery derailed the Dane’s progress, causing her ranking to plummet to as low as No.74 during the 2016 US Open.
It was during that US Open fortnight that Wozniacki’s comeback came together; she entered the tournament unseeded and went on to reach the semifinals, knocking out the likes of Svetlana Kuznetsova and Madison Keys along the way.
Once she got going, Wozniacki never looked back, and in the 14 events since her ranking dipped to No.74, she’s put together a stunning run which includes titles at the 2016 Toray Pan Pacific Open and the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, runner-up finishes at the 2017 Qatar Total Open, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and Miami Open, and a semifinal finish at the US Open.
She’s reached the quarterfinals or better at 11 of her last 14 events and now, by virtue of her incredible consistency, Wozniacki sits one win away from a return to her beloved Top 10 – the first time she’ll be there since September 21, 2015.
It won’t be easy with Latvian teenager Ostapenko standing in her way; Wozniacki lost in straight sets the only previous match they’ve played at last year’s Connecticut Open. And due to extreme weather conditions in Charleston, Wozniacki found herself having to double up and play two matches on the same day to reach the quarterfinals.
“I think I’m well-prepared for tomorrow,” Wozniacki said after her win against Anastasia Rodionova. “I got some clay tennis in today and feel like I’m just going to go out there and have fun and do my best and see how it goes.
“I’m just playing right now. I had one practice session before the tournament started for me, and that was it. I just kind of run on experience and try and figure it out.”
Sam Stosur ended Spain’s hopes for a hometown champion at the Mutua Madrid Open, downing the ailing No.8 seed Carla Suárez Navarro 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 for passage into the quarterfinals.