Kristina Mladenovic On Winning Her First Title In St. Petersburg
Kristina Mladenovic talks about winning her maiden WTA title at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Kristina Mladenovic talks about winning her maiden WTA title at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Angelique Kerber headlines the only green clay court stop on the tour, while Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova returns to the site of her big breakthrough.
Eight-time Miami Open champion Serena Williams will headline a stacked field in South Florida this year, including Angelique Kerber and Karolina Pliskova, a host of former champions and the entire Top 10.
Irina-Camelia Begu takes on Caroline Garcia in the first round of the Volvo Car Open.
Great Britain open their Fed Cup campaign this week in Estonia – and Johanna Konta says they won’t be underestimating anyone as they look to progress from the Europe/Africa zone.
It’s time to vote for March’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, April 8.
March 2016 WTA Player Of The Month Finalists
Victoria Azarenka: Former No.1 Victoria Azarenka became the third woman in WTA history to capture the elusive Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine” Double – joining Steffi Graf (1994, 1996) and Kim Clijsters). Azarenka showed grit and determination through the BNP Paribas Open, edging past Samantha Stosur and Karolina Pliskova in a pair of tight three-setters before stunning World No.1 Serena Williams in the final, defeating the 21-time Grand Slam champion for the first time since 2013 (Cincinnati). The two-time Australian Open champion backed up her two weeks in Indian Wells by a near-perfect display at the Miami Open, racing through six matches without dropping a set and avenging her Australian Open quarterfinal loss to Angelique Kerber in the semis. With two more titles under her belt for a tour-leading three in 2016, Azarenka is back in the Top 5 for the first time since 2014 and regains the top spot on the Road to Singapore leaderboard.
Serena Williams: Williams continued her solid start to the season with a run to the finals Indian Wells, her first since 2001. The American didn’t drop a set heading into a final but ran into an inspired Azarenka in the final; even then, the American nearly pulled off one of her signature second set comebacks in winning three straight games towards the end of the match. Her quest for a ninth Miami Open title ended in the fourth round at the hands of Svetlana Kuznetsova, who went on to reach the final. Her successful month of March ends with her still atop the WTA rankings and No.3 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard
Svetlana Kuznetsova: Kuznetsova has been another one of the in form players to start 2016. Having already won a title at the Apia International Sydney, Kuznetsova served out a third career victory over Serena Williams and won a total of four three-set matches to reach her first Miami final since she won the title in 2006. Her best match of the tournament, however, came in a two-set victory over Timea Bacsinszky when she overcame multiple break points to defeat the resurgent Swiss in the semifinals.
2016 Winners
January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
KATOWICE, Poland – Kirsten Flipkens has only been in Katowice a few days but it has already been a highly productive stay.
At Sunday’s player party she took home the much-coveted Katowice Open frame juggling title, before getting back to the business in hand the following evening, booking a second-round spot with a brisk win over Donna Vekic.
However, not content, the Belgian spent her day off in search of another prize: the Ricoh camera on offer for the player who could hit the most ‘tweeners’ in 30 seconds.
After completing seven in the allotted time, Flipkens found herself tied for first place with Demi Schuurs. In the subsequent tie-break, things did not go entirely to plan…
Now you all know why they call me Flipper (the flippin' dolphin!) ???? https://t.co/k7pjYZ9f0e
— Kirsten Flipkens (@FlipperKF) April 5, 2016
TALLINN, Estonia – Johanna Konta fought back from set a down to seal Great Britain’s place in the Fed Cup promotion play-off on Saturday.
The World No.10 and Heather Watson helped the British team beat Portugal 3-0 on Wednesday and Latvia by the same score on Thursday before facing Turkey in the final Pool C match today.
Watson, the World No.72, comfortably overcame Ipek Soylu 6-0 6-1 in the opener but says the match was deceptively hard.
“The score was 6-0 6-1, but it felt a lot closer than that in the games and she’s a good player but today I just felt that I was pretty flawless,” she explained after the match.
High ?! @HeatherWatson92 celebrates her brilliant win over Turkey in the @FedCup #BackTheBrits ????? pic.twitter.com/Q45lpUi0m9
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) February 10, 2017
Konta was made to work harder for her success. After taking a 5-3 lead in the first set against Cagla Buyukakcay, Konta lost four straight games to hand the World No.86 the opening set.
But the 25-year-old raised her game after that setback to close out a 5-7 6-4 6-3 win and victory in the tie ahead of the final doubles match.
“I’m just really happy to come through that,” she said. “It wasn’t easy and she definitely played herself into the match and to give us the opportunity to go into the play-off tomorrow, I’m very happy for us and the team.”
? fight back complete! @JoKonta91 battles past Buyukakcay 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to keep the 100% record going #BackTheBrits ?? pic.twitter.com/Df1g6uSzzA
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) February 10, 2017
Britain will face either face Hungary or Croatia for the prize of a World Group II play-off in April.
TALLINN, Estonia – Great Britain are through to the Fed Cup World Group II play-offs after a nerve-wracking tie against Croatia, with Heather Watson and Johanna Konta emerging victorious in the deciding doubles rubber.
“I’m absolutely ecstatic,” team captain Anne Keothavong told the LTA after the tie. “It’s been a real emotional rollercoaster, but the way the girls performed today and throughout the whole week, I’m just so proud of them.
“It wasn’t easy today against Croatia with it coming down to the deciding doubles. It was so tight, everyone was on the edge of their seats. But they fought their hearts out and played with so much passion out there. I’m so proud of them.”
Watson, who didn’t drop a set all week long against Turkey, Latvia and Portugal, kept her streak intact against Croatia as well, sweeping past Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-4 in the hour-and-20-minute opener.
But with Great Britain one win away from clinching the tie, 19-year-old Ana Konjuh stunned World No.10 Konta to keep Croatia alive, 6-4, 6-3.
A last-minute team change by team captain Keothavong had Watson and Konta back out on court for the deciding doubles rubber, replacing the undefeated Jocelyn Rae and Laura Robson against Konjuh and Darija Jurak.
Konjuh and Jurak took the opening set in just 26 minutes against to earn a lead against the British pair, but they rallied back to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory to book Britain’s spot in April’s World Group II play-offs.
“It’s safe to say we are all very happy,” Watson said to the LTA, grinning with her teammates afterwards. “That was really tough, all of our matches today were. Croatia are a strong country, and I think we all played great tennis all the way from start to finish.”
Konta added, “It was tough going back out after having lost my singles rubber, but having all the girls supporting me – Laura and Jocelyn, they made a lot of noise courtside – it helped.
“And we can’t forget all those other ties before this one. The fact that we were able to win our group undefeated, that’s a massive achievement for us.”
SQUAD. So proud to be a part of this team! Playoffs here we come ???? pic.twitter.com/LS05qz8yXm
— Laura Robson (@laurarobson5) 11 de febrero de 2017
More to follow…
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Top seed Angelique Kerber eased into the Volvo Car Open semifinal with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Irina-Camelia Begu.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Charleston right here on wtatennis.com!
Kerber had lost two of her three encounters with the big-hitting Romanian in 2015, but Begu had a much tougher road to reach the quarterfinals, saving a match point to defeat Monica Puig in a third set tie-break on Thursday night.
“I think I was mentally there,” the Australian Open champion told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “I was trying to focus on myself because it’s always tough to play against her. Sometimes you lose your rhythm against her, so that’s what I was focusing on: just trying to go for it, move good on clay and just win the match because I remember the last match against her, I lost! So I was trying my best to win the match.
“I feel the love. The people here are so nice, so I’m just feeling welcome here. You have the best food here and I have so many great memories from last year, so it gives me confidence to play good tennis.”
Begu tried her best to force in the issue in the second set, hitting 23 winners to 18 from Kerber overall, but 35 unforced errors proved her undoing as Kerber hit only nine through the 72 minute match – four in the second set alone.
“I’m feeling better and better on clay. I think I’m getting used to it and it’s just so great to be back in the semis. I love Charleston and I’ve had a great week so far, so I’m just enjoying it here and hoping to have two more matches!”
What an angle from @AngeliqueKerber ?? #VCO2016 https://t.co/iJfpIzPAwX
— WTA (@WTA) April 8, 2016
Kerber needs to defeat Sloane Stephens to hold onto the No.2 ranking – which she briefly lost to WTA Finals champion Agnieszka Radwanska after Indian Wells – but the win over Begu has already guaranteed her return to the top of the Road To Singapore leaderboard, ousting Sunshine Double winner Victoria Azarenka.
“Sloane, she’s a great player, I know, and I played a few times against her already,” she said after the match. “I will just try to go out against her and try to take the challenge, playing a good match. So just enjoy it against her.”
Stephens won a marathon encounter with Kasatkina, who was in her first Premier level quarterfinal on clay courts. Rolling through the opening set, things were tight in the second as Kasatkina snuck away with a late break of serve to level the match. Down a match point, the young American caught fire once more, winning the final 11 points to book an ecounter with Kerber on her 37th winner.
“You guys were awesome,” she said after the match, addressing the crowd. “I’m so excited to be in the semis. it’s my best result in six years, so it’s about time I won some matches here!
“I was just fighting for every point. Obviously the conditions were really tough and I was playing a really good player. She’s had some really good results, so I knew from the beginning that it was going to be a battle. The wind and we’re on clay court were a lot of factors, so I’m happy I stayed calm and played my game.”
Semifinal for @SloaneStephens! Saves a match point to defeat Kasatkina, 6-1, 5-7, 7-5. #VCO2016 https://t.co/kXUmZidHaJ
— WTA (@WTA) April 8, 2016