Insider Podcast: Pliskova's Big Night
WTA Insider | In the latest Daily Dispatch, Italian journalist Luca Baldissera joins once again to try and make sense of a remarkable evening under the lights.
WTA Insider | In the latest Daily Dispatch, Italian journalist Luca Baldissera joins once again to try and make sense of a remarkable evening under the lights.
Elina Svitolina takes on Johanna Konta in the semifinals at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
MONTERREY, Mexico – No.3 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has tended to play her best tennis at the Abierto Monterrey Afirme, winning the title three times – most recently in 2013 – but the Russian came up against stiff opposition in qualifier Pauline Parmentier on a stormy Tuesday night, falling, 6-2, 6-2 in the first round.
“I played a really good match,” she said during her on-court interview. “It wasn’t tight at all in the beginning; I played really good with the spin on the forehand and she had a problem with that. I’m really happy to win this match. It wasn’t easy to come back after the rain; I was a bit tight, but I think I made it, so it’s good.”
A former Top 40 player, Parmentier qualified for the Monterrey main draw dropping just one set en route, and roared through the opening exchanges before rain interrupted proceedings – canceling the planned second night match between No.2 seed Caroline Wozniacki and Olga Govortsova.
“I think playing qualifying helped me a lot because I won three matches when it was very hot. Now it was ok, so it was better for me; I had a rest today and it was good.
“But to play three matches before the main draw was really good.”
Serving for the match at 5-1 in the second set, Parmentier couldn’t find a serve on match point and Pavlyuchenkova engineered only her second service break of the match.
“I did a wonderful double fault on match point,” the veteran laughed, “But I said, ‘Ok, it’s still 5-2 for me, so refocus on the game, move my legs and just watch the ball!'”
Up next for Parmentier is Monica Puig, who outsteadied local wildcard Marcela Zacarias, 6-2, 7-5.
It was a solid day all around for Monterrey’s qualifiers, who went 3-0 on Tuesday as Parmentier was joined by Julia Glushko, who eased past Alexandra Dulgheru, 6-1, 6-1, and Nicole Gibba, who upset No.7 seed Danka Kovinic, 7-5, 6-2.
Rio Open winner and wildcard Francesca Schiavone couldn’t maintain her momentum when switching from clay to hardcourts, falling to former Wimbledon semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens, 6-3, 7-6(5). In the first match of the day, 2012 champion Timea Babos ran into nemesis Polona Hercog, who improved their overall head-to-head to 4-0 with a 6-2, 6-2 win over the current 2016 ace leader. American Christina McHale took out Mexico’s Victoria Rodriguez, 6-0, 6-4, while Yanina Wickmayer survived the only three-set match of the day against Johanna Larsson, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.
Petra Kvitova powered her way to the final of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai with the help of her dominating first serve – SAP Coaches View shows how she got it done.
ZHUHAI, China – Huanjin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai Ambassador and 22-time Grand Slam champion Stefanie Graf had a front row seat to the rise of World No.1 Angelique Kerber.
“She would take little breaks in the year and come to Las Vegas to train and prepare herself,” she told WTA Insider during a media Q&A on Sunday. “I had a chance to watch and help a little but, but she’s the one doing the hard work. She’s the one showing that determination and commitment.
“I felt she always had the talent and the strengths; she’s been working hard. She just needed that one win to get her mindset changed to where she could start believing in herself. She was really able to do that in the last year or two, where she started realizing that she can beat top players. That belief really changed her game around; she’s been playing with a lot more confidence, and you can see that she’s a different player on the court. With each victory, it seemed like she got stronger and more comfortable with herself on the court.”
With Kerber leading a strong German contingent – one that already includes Julia Goerges, Andrea Petkovic, Sabine Lisicki, and Laura Siegemund – Graf is hopeful for a surge in national interest in the sport she once dominated.
“I think we’ve had such strong talent in Germany over the past few years; we had a lot of great players pushing each other. For her to push through has been really important for German tennis because where we’ve seen a lot of growth here, we’ve seen fewer tournaments in Germany where we used to be really strong.
“For her to have that success, and a lot of the other players being strong behind her, that should hopefully strengthen tennis in Germany and Europe again.”
Graf wouldn’t count out former No.1 Serena Williams, who matched her Grand Slam total this year at Wimbledon, as Kerber’s biggest challenge in 2017.
“With Serena, she’s definitely had a little bit of a harder year; she wasn’t able to play as many tournaments as she might have wished to be ready for the Grand Slams. But she’s too incredible of a player to be underestimated in the coming year.
“Consistency is what we’re all striving for on the court; it’s difficult with different surfaces, different time zones and different climates. It’s a long year in tennis.”
Serving as WTA Elite Trophy Ambassador at the end of the season proved to be an easy decision for Graf; the German had never before traveled to China and has thoroughly enjoyed taking in the sights throughout the region. She arrived late Friday night and was greeted by a throng of fans at her hotel, and has since participated in several clinics with junior players, a trip to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge with Caroline Garcia, and the coin toss for the final between Petra Kvitova and Elina Svitolina.
“The desire has always been there to come visit China. I can say I’ve traveled the world, but there’s a few places I haven’t been but have the wish to go. I love to travel and experience different cultures. Tennis is such a great and growing sport in China; to be part of it, and hopefully help just a little bit bring the sport to our young talents, it’s a great opportunity.
“I do enjoy a coastline, and even having the possibility to drive around and get the chance yesterday to be playing a little bit of tennis on the longest bridge in the world. That was an incredible sight. The city has a lot of beautiful parts I’ve seen just by driving along, but also looking at little mountains and hills. We’ve enjoyed taking walks in the morning, jogging along the water and seeing people on early strolls of their own.
“You have so many possibilities here, so it seems like a vibrant city everyone can enjoy.”
Check out more quick hits from Graf on what she makes of the tournament, how tennis can continue growing in China, and even what she makes of new ATP World No.1 Andy Murray.
What an honor to meet & play with the Legend, Steffi Graff! And why not do it on the longest cross sea bridge in the World! #WTAEliteTrophy pic.twitter.com/LzFOGlqGtN
— Caroline Garcia (@CaroGarcia) November 6, 2016
On the Zhuhai venue…
I’m looking at an incredible facility right now. The center court couldn’t be nicer; I got a chance to play a little bit on the outside courts yesterday, and they play beautifully. In terms of the environment – from locker rooms, to physiotherapy to massages – I thought the organization has been exceptional. I feel there’s a strong passion for tennis here, and you can feel a high level excitement from everyone on the grounds. Everyone has been so accommodating and able to help whenever you have questions. There’s a really cute conversation card in the tournament transportation vehicle, where if a driver doesn’t completely understand you, there’s a list of different questions you could have in different languages. It’s all extremely well thought through. I’m sure all the other players will agree that the organization has been top notch.
On the city’s plan to further integrate tennis into the Zhuhai landscape…
I just learned quite a bit last night and this afternoon, sitting down with some of the CTA members, as well as the mayor and vice-mayor. Just from those discussions, it seems that there’s a lot of vision already in hand, where they’re already in the second and third stages of development. They’re talking about developing a tennis academy as well as increasing the amount of tennis played in schools. It seems that there’s a lot of planning going on. With the interest and passion that I’ve seen around this tournament, I believe that there’s going to be fast growth.
It seems that everyone is very enthusiastic about it. I think from what I hear, it’s still a very new sport, because for long periods, China couldn’t watch a lot of tennis on TV. The enthusiasm is there, and just seeing the growing tournaments over the last few years has been great. During my career, we didn’t have a big women’s tournament here, so the growth in this sector is clearly immense. So the industry and fans are here; I believe that from what has already been done that we all need to be on the lookout for even more growth.
On Andy Murray ascending to World No.1…
I didn’t even know until you told me just now! It happened last night, so I hadn’t caught the news. It’s the result of some incredible tennis that he’s been playing over the last few years, and so it’s well deserved. When you look at men’s tennis, the level has been so phenomenal for such a long time; it’s still a tight race with Djokovic, players like Federer and Nadal. It’s fascinating to watch men’s tennis with how close it is. How long will he be able to hold on? I don’t know, but I’ll be looking forward to seeing what next year will bring.
On the importance of consistency throughout a long season…
Consistency is what you strive for. It’s pretty difficult to achieve in the world of tennis. There are very few sports played all year long. In my career, it was an 11-11.5 month long season; now it’s gotten a little short, more like 10 months. But it’s really difficult to hold the highest level throughout the year. Ideally, you try to pace yourself through it, meaning you pick and choose your tournaments, and take time in between. With Angie, she did a fantastic job peaking at the big tournaments this year, with strong showings at the Grand Slam tournaments.
On the next generation of players…
I think it’s important for everyone to find their individual way, their presence, and their style. I think in terms of my style of play, it’s not around so much anymore with one-handed backhand slice, and keeping the ball low. That’s a very unusual thing; I think tennis has changed quite a bit through the last few generations. But the good thing is that everyone finds their own way to become who they are.
.@WTAEliteTrophy Ambassador Stefanie Graf was on hand for a fan activity and Media Q&A in Zhuhai pic.twitter.com/ndblZTBc5y
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) November 6, 2016
All photos courtesy of WTA Elite Trophy.
It’s time to vote for October’s WTA Player of the Month!
Have a look at the nominees and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, November 11.
October 2016 WTA Player Of The Month Finalists
Dominika Cibulkova: Cibulkova needed to win the Generali Ladies Linz to qualify for her debut appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The Slovak did just that, defeating Viktorija Golubic in straight sets in the final and clinching what became a winning berth in Singapore. From 0-2 down in round robin play, Cibulkova stunned 2014 finalist Simona Halep and outgutted Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals before putting on a masterclass against World No.1 Angelique Kerber to win the biggest title of her career.
Angelique Kerber: Kerber didn’t walk away with the title in Singapore, but nonetheless impressed as she clinched the Year-End No.1 ranking. Undefeated in round robin play, she brushed aside defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska before falling to Cibulkova in a high-quality final.
Agnieszka Radwanska: The Pole ended another solid season with a Premier Mandatory title at the China Open, where she defeated Johanna Konta in the final. Playing to defend her Singapore crown, Radwanska put down a pair of quality wins in round robin play, ultimately bowing out to World No.1 Kerber in the semifinals.
2016 Winners
January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
April: Angelique Kerber
May: Garbiñe Muguruza
June: Serena Williams
July: Simona Halep
August: Monica Puig
September: Petra Kvitova
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Elina Svitolina survived a stormy Sunday final against an inspired Eugenie Bouchard to capture her fourth career title at the BMW Malaysian Open, 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-5.
“Emotionally, I’m really exhausted now,” she said in her post-match press conference.
Svitolina recently hired former No.1 Justine Henin as part of her coaching team, and the Ukranian has enjoyed a flying start to their partnership with a run to the semifinals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and was looking for her first title of the season in Kuala Lumpur.
There were few signs of the rain-interrupted epic this match would become at the start, and Bouchard, who is in the midst of a resurgence following a disappointing 2015, broke through after the first rain delay to win the first set in a tie-break.
“It was a long day. The first set was really tough and she was playing really well, but I was 5-3 up, so I was disappointed to lose the first set after such a tough fight. After we stopped a couple of times because of the rain, it was up and down.”
Svitolina had never lost to the Canadian in three prior meetings, and her frustration at failing to serve out the opening set shown through as she fell behind 4-2 in the second. The No.2 seed soon caught fire once more, winning the last four games of the set to level the match before rain came once more.
“Honestly, I don’t remember much of the second set now because my emotions are over the moon. I just remember that it was so tough and I was 2-4 down and came back to win that set.
“During the match, I tried to change something in my game plan; I tried to adapt. When I’m not winning, why should I do the same thing?”
Bouchard looked to have the momentum when it counted, emerging from the final interruption to serve for the match in the tenth game. But the former Wimbledon finalist lost serve to love and Svitolina, who was forced to save a break point at 5-5, engineered an efficient service break to clinch the victory just before midnight.
“Many people would think the match is over, but I like to surprise everyone,” she said with a laugh. “Honestly, I was just trying to play my game; there was nothing special, just when I lost my serve I was 30-0 up, and emotionally I was struggling a bit because I lost my serve in such a big moment.
“I said to myself that I needed to just play my game and forget everything that happened in the last game. I did a great job; I played amazing returns, and she was really under pressure. This was the key in that moment.”
Winning in Kuala Lumpur brings Svitolina up to a career-high ranking of No.14, and back into the Top 15 for the first time since last summer.
“Thank you very much for staying that late to watch our final,” Svitolina said in her victory speech. “I want to thank Genie for a great final, it was a really tough one.”
“Hopefully I can come back next year!”
Earlier in the day, the unseeded pairing of Varatchaya Wongteanchai and Yang Zhaoxuan upset top seeds Liang Cheng and Wang Yafan, 4-6, 6-4, 10-7; for both winners, Sunday’s win marks the first WTA title of any kind.
“In the first set we played well,” Liang said after the match. “But didn’t play our best game from the second set. I felt very sorry to my partner for my double fault in the end. But we’ll move on and and continue to work hard.”
All photos courtesy of BMW Malaysian Oepn 2016.
After the new rankings were released on Monday, Angelique Kerber was presented with the WTA World No.1 Trophy, which was unveiled last year at the WTA Finals in Singapore.
The focal point of the trophy is a silver “star-map” tennis ball that represents the tennis universe.
On the trophy, all World No.1s, past and present, are depicted by a diamond in the sky, representing each champion leaving their mark on the sport.
At 28 years old, Kerber became the oldest woman to rise to World No.1 for the first time.
She’s only the second German woman to achieve this historic milestone since computer rankings were introduced in 1975, and the first since Stefanie Graf.
Kerber has also qualified for the 2016 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global in October, and will be making her fourth appearance at the year-end finale.
Kerber’s rise to WTA World No.1 brings to an end the reign of Serena Williams, whose 186 weeks tied the all-time record set by Graf.
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA – Maria Sharapova held a press conference on Monday to announce she has tested positive for meldonium. Sharapova told reporters she received a letter from the ITF after the Australian Open notifying her of the failed drug test.
“I failed the test and I take full responsibility for it,” Sharapova said. “For the past 10 years, I have been given a medicine called Mildronate by my family doctor, and a few days ago after I received the ITF letter, I found out that it also has another name of Meldonium, which I did not know.
“It’s very important for you to understand that for 10 years, this medicine was not on WADA’s ban list, and I had been legally taking the medicine for the past 10 years.”
Sharapova said she was prescribed the medication for health issues dating back to 2006, including magnesium deficiency, an irregular heartbeat, and a family history of diabetes.
“Throughout my long career, I have been very open and honest about many things, and I take great responsibility and professionalism in my job every single day, and I made a huge mistake,” Sharapova said. “I let my fans down, and this sport down that I’ve been playing since the age of four and that I love so deeply.
“I know that with this, I face consequences, and I don’t want to end my career this way and I really hope that I will be given another chance to play this game.”
Sharapova said she does not know what the consequences will be yet. “I just received the letter a few days ago and I will be working with the ITF,” Sharapova said.
“I am very saddened to hear this news about Maria,” WTA CEO Steve Simon said in a statement. “Maria is a leader and I have always known her to be a woman of great integrity. Nevertheless, as Maria acknowledged, it is every player’s responsibility to know what they put in their body and to know if it is permissible. This matter is now in the hands of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program and its standard procedures. The WTA will support the decisions reached through this process.”
Following the announcement, WADA released the following statement:
“WADA is aware of the ongoing case. As is our normal process, and in order to protect the integrity of the case, WADA will refrain from commenting further until a decision has been issued by the ITF. Following that, WADA will review the reasons for the decision and subsequently decide whether or not to use its independent right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
We can confirm that meldonium was added to the 2016 Prohibited List which took effect on 1 January 2016, having previously been on WADA’s monitoring program for the duration of 2015.
Meldonium was added [to the Prohibited List] because of evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance.”
STRASBOURG, France – World No.6 Karolina Pliskova will open the Czech Republic’s Fed Cup defense against Kristina Mladenovic on Saturday afternoon.
The draw, held at Maison de la Region and carried out by Paralympic wheelchair doubles champion Nicolas Peifer, contained few surprises, pairing Czech No.1 Pliskova and French No.2 Mladenovic in the first rubber, with Petra Kvitova and Caroline Garcia facing off in the second.
The Czechs have dominated the Fed Cup in recent years, lifting the trophy in four of the past five years. Is it a record that compares favorably with many of the other dominant sides in the competition’s history. Indeed, should Pliskova and Kvitova spearhead them to victory over a gifted French side, then they will cement their place alongside the great Australian and United States teams of years gone by.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Australians reigned supreme, Margaret Court and company winning seven of the first 12 titles. This was followed by the golden age of American tennis, Chris Evert and Billie Jean King integral to a group that won the cup on seven consecutive occasions.
Check out photos from the draw for the #FedCupFinal on our Facebook page: https://t.co/ntiKRdmxNX pic.twitter.com/yG4Di4BL8e
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) November 11, 2016
Fast forward to the 21st century and Czech captain Petr Pala has forged another dynasty, founded on tremendous team spirit and no little talent. And even away from the fortresses of Prague and Ostrava, they are a formidable proposition.
Pliskova has enjoyed the best season of her career, winning a couple of titles and reaching the US Open final to cement a place in the Top 10. Despite being overtaken in the rankings by Pliskova, two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova remains an integral cog, arriving in Strasbourg fresh from dominant victories at the big Asian events in Wuhan and Zhuhai. She will be further buoyed by her record against, Garcia, whom she has beaten in two of their three meetings.
The Czechs are not the only ones playing for a piece of history. French captain Amélie Mauresmo is aiming to follow in the footsteps of Court, King and Evert by winning the Fed Cup as both player and captain, and certainly has the players to spring an upset.
? Très contente d'être à Strasbourg pour la finale de #FedCup #TeamFranceTennis #J-2 pic.twitter.com/eJFSKuUadE
— Caroline Garcia (@CaroGarcia) November 10, 2016
Garcia has enjoyed a quietly impressive year on tour, titles in Strasbourg and Mallorca helping her close in on the Top 20. Alongside Mladenovic she enjoyed an even more impressive doubles campaign, highlighted by a memorable victory on home soil at Roland Garros, forging an understanding that could prove decisive should the tie reach the decisive doubles rubber on Sunday.
Pliskova and Garcia, who have split their two career encounters, will step out in front of an expected capacity crowd at the 6,077-seat Rhénus Sport indoor arena at 2pm.