Kvitova, Konta & Suárez Navarro Shine In Zhuhai Player Party
Petra Kvitova, Johanna Konta, Carla Suárez Navarro, and more stepped out for the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai’s official player party – see all the best photos right here!
Petra Kvitova, Johanna Konta, Carla Suárez Navarro, and more stepped out for the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai’s official player party – see all the best photos right here!
Madison Keys takes on Barbora Strycova in the final of the Aegon Classic.
ZHUHAI, China – Azalea Group action begins in earnest on Wednesday at the Huajin Securities Elite Trophy Zhuhai. Top seed Johanna Konta is fresh from her stint as first alternate at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, and the Brit admitted that Zhuhai already feels more like home.
“What can I say? I like China!” she joked with WTA Insider. “We get treated very well here; every hotel is always really beautiful, as is every venue. They really put a lot of effort into the immediate things that surround us as tennis players, the things we experience at every event.
“They definitely make us feel quite comfortable.”
Konta had a chance to get comfortable on the first day of round robin play in Zhuhai, fielding questions in All-Access hour that ranged from tennis to fashion – one in particularly about the dress she sported at Singapore’s draw ceremony.
“I was not expecting that question!” she told reporters. “I’m very flattered. I do enjoy fashion. I do get some help though, so it’s not all me. Thank you for noticing.”
All eyes have been on the Brit as she blew the roof off her 2016 season with stellar performances, including one just three weeks ago at the China Open, where she reached the final.
“I still feel very much in this season, and I’m really happy and looking forward to playing my last event here in Zhuhai. I’m looking forward to stepping out on the court, competing finally.
“I like to be at events that I’m competing in, mainly!”
She’ll certainly have to compete in her first match as she takes on No.8 seed and former US Open champion Samantha Stosur. The Aussie arrived a day earlier than Konta, allowing her more of a chance to explore the city.
“We’ve gone out for some great meals every single night. I have an opportunity – by not playing tonight – to go out and see something else.
“Then, I’ll probably just be busy with the tournament. But we’ve been very well looked after and it’s been a very enjoyable week.”
It’s been a stabilizing week for the former World No.4, who recently announced Josh Eagle as her full-time coach; the ex-ATP professional was with Stosur during the Emirates Airline US Open Series, and are together in Zhuhai for the first time since Flushing.
“I’m looking forward to starting the year with him, and hopefully getting a level of consistency with the people around me. That will help my game as well. There’s never been a bad relationship with anyone I’ve had this year, but when you’re chopping and changing all the time, it makes it difficult.
“If that’s all in the past, then I’ll be very happy next year!”
Stosur parted with longtime coach David Taylor after this year’s French Open, where she earned her best Grand Slam result in four years by reaching the semifinals, and is looking forward to having a new voice to help her adapt to an ever-changing game.
.@bambamsam30 meets the press @wtaelitetrophy to discuss her season and look ahead to her Azalea Group draw pic.twitter.com/Ki8InCaj6x
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) November 1, 2016
“You can’t say the one way you’ve done it for so long is the only way to do it. I think you have to be a little bit open to change or even just hearing new ideas.
“That’s just different; I wouldn’t say it’s good or bad, but you have to get used to it when you’ve gotten set in your routines, the way you communicate with someone and how they might tell you to do something.”
The up-ended routines have helped her in practice – Stosur says she’s hitting as good as ever – and she hopes to use the week in Zhuhai to begin translating that onto the match court.
“Sometimes it only takes one or two matches and then you feel really good about things, and then, all of the sudden, you can get on a little bit of a roll. Who knows? I feel like I’m in a decent spot now; this is kind of a bonus extra tournament for all of us to be at, and given the Asian Swing that I had, it’s probably a good thing to win a couple before I finish the year.”
With one week left to the season, both women will be keen to end the season on a high note, which ought to inspire some scintillating tennis as they go head-to-head in second on Zhuhai’s Stadium court.
All photos courtesy of the WTA Elite Trophy.
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska before her opening round match at the Aegon International.
Zhang Shuai takes on Timea Babos in the group stage at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
Elena Vesnina takes on Heather Watson in the first round of the Aegon International.
ZHUHAI, China – Three of the four semifinal spots at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai could be decided as Elina Svitolina, Elena Vesnina and Sam Stosur take the court on Day 3. Preview all the singles action right here on wtatennis.com!
Thursday
Camellia Group
[13/Alt] Timea Babos (HUN #25) vs [12/WC] Zhang Shuai (CHN #28)
Head-to-head: Babos leads 1-0 (first meeting at tour level)
Stat: Zhang can advance to semifinals if she wins four games
The two lowest-ranked players at the WTA Elite Trophy will meet on Thursday with the same goal in mind, but facing very different scenarios. Last-minute singles alternate Timea Babos sits at the bottom of her group after suffering a straight sets defeat against Timea Bacsinszky, but she would have to pull off a massive performance in to advance to the semifinals. Her opponent, Zhang Shuai, needs to win just four games in order to clinch the Camellia Group semifinal spot. And considering the way China’s Zhang was able to leverage the support of her home fans in her 6-1, 6-1 thumping of Bacsinszky, Babos seems to be facing an uphill battle.
Azalea Group
[8] Sam Stosur (AUS #20) vs [11] Caroline Garcia (FRA #23)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Stat: Garcia owns a 1-7 record against Top 20 opponents in 2016
After suffering a straight-sets defeat against Britain’s Johanna Konta, Sam Stosur has one last shot to keep her semifinal hopes alive in Zhuhai. She’s up against Caroline Garcia and needs to win without dropping a set in order to stay alive in the Azalea Group. Stosur is more battle-tested than Frenchwoman, who is making her Zhuhai debut on Thursday, but she can’t afford another slow start against her big-hitting opponent.
“I’m playing another player I have never played before, so that’s I guess kind of unique these days out on tour,” Stosur mused in her post-match press conference. “I know that she plays aggressive tennis, got a big serve, really goes for it. She hits the ball hard.
“In a lot of ways it’s kind of similar to [playing Konta]. I need to, no doubt, get off to better starts. You can’t be giving these girls head starts by four games and expect to be able to come back every single time.”
Rose Group
[4] Elina Svitolina (UKR #14) vs [7] Elena Vesnina (RUS #19)
Head-to-head: Vesnina leads 2-1
Stat: Svitolina needs to win against Vesnina to advance to semifinals
Elena Vesnina is flying high after her doubles victory at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, but she’ll have to hit the ground running in her first singles match at Zhuhai. Her opponent, Elina Svitolina, has her work cut out for her; she needs to beat Svitolina in order to advance to the semifinals, but Vesnina could knock her out if she wins in straight sets.
“[Vesnina] of course really confident, I think, at the moment after winning doubles in Singapore,” Svitolina assessed in her post-match press conference. “I will try just to stick to my game. It’s a new match, new challenge. There will be new opportunities. I will try to create of course opportunities for myself.”
Semifinal Scenarios
Camellia Group: Zhang advances if she wins 4 games vs. Babos on Thursday
Peony Group: Winner of Strycova vs Kvitova (on Friday) advances
Azalea Group: Stosur (vs. Garcia on Thursday) needs to win in straight sets to keep chances of advancing alive.
Rose Group: Svitolina advances with a win over Vesnina on Thursday. If Vesnina wins in straight sets, then Svitolina is out, with Friday’s match between Bertens and Vesnina determining the group winner; Bertens would need to win in straight sets to win the group.
EASTBOURNE, Great Britain – Former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki is starting to find her footing after a long layoff that forced her to miss the entire clay court season – including the French Open. Speaking with WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen at the Aegon International after her first round win over Alizé Cornet, Wozniacki first felt things were starting to fall into place following a pre-tournament practice with good friend and World No.3, Agnieszka Radwanska.
“I feel like I’m getting closer to where I want to be,” the Dane said in a Dropshot Edition of the WTA Insider Podcast. “I had a really good two hour practice with Aga yesterday; that made me feel good and like I know what I need to do. Birmingham wasn’t the best place to get rhythm because we kept going on and off the court.
“It was nice to get here knowing the weather is usually better here than anywhere else in the UK.”
Wozniacki reflects on her long absence from the tour, one that led her to a highly scheduled period of rest, relaxation, and a return to the piano, a former childhood pursuit.
“I used to play when I was younger, and I used to play some concerts as well. I just thought, ‘I have some time off, and it’s good for the brain as well.’
“I was good. Was. You know, when you start out playing again and think, ‘I used to do this so easily.’ Right now, I’m not very good, but then you keep improving every time because you start remembering things. I’m still getting there; I have a piano at home, and every time I’m home I’ll get lessons. I bought a keyboard for when I’m on the road, but I decided I had too much luggage, but maybe next trip!”
Listen to the full interview with the two-time US Open finalist below:
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An interview with Petra Kvitova after her win in the semifinals at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
EASTBOURNE, Great Britain – Coming off her first Grand Slam semifinal since 2012, former World No.4 Samantha Stosur told press at the Aegon International that she will be working with Andrew Roberts, official hitting partner for the Australian Fed Cup team, after parting with longtime coach David Taylor.
“He’s coming here and Wimbledon and then we’re going to assess what we want to do from there,” she said on Tuesday. “Other than that, that’s the arrangement.”
Stosur had announced earlier in the season that she and Taylor would separate after the French Open, citing the latter’s desire to travel less. The 2011 US Open champion described how the connection with Roberts came about just after the French Open.
“We had spoken a little bit, and I actually spoke to him on the phone the day before the French Open started. Then once I finished there, then it was kind of like, ‘All right, what is the plan?’
“It’s very hard to think about things when you’re obviously so involved in a tournament. So, yeah, It was kind of last minute. Then it was possible for him to be able to come over.
“That was really good for me that he was able to come over on short notice and come.
“We will just see how it goes from here.”
Stosur lost her first match of the grass court season, 6-2, 6-1, to former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki.