Tennis News

NEW HAVEN, CT, USA – Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska overcame an early challenge from 19-year-old Jelena Ostapenko to advance in straight sets in her opening match at the Connecticut Open.

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Radwanska took a wild card into the event in search of extra tune-up matches ahead of the US Open, and she was certainly put through her paces against the young Ostapenko.

“I was actually really surprised,” Radwanska said after the match, which was the pair’s first encounter. “She’s really a very smart and solid player. She’s very young and she can already do everything on court. She can play a really good game and for sure she’s gonna be good.”

Ostapenko and Radwanska traded breaks at the start of the match and held level throughout, with Radwanska’s cerebral game matching up against the teenager’s aggressive style. Ostapenko held a set point at 5-4 on Radwanska’s serve in the first set but was unable to convert as her backhand misfired and the unforced error count did her in. The Pole held her serve and won seven games on the trot to take the opening set and a commanding 4-0 lead in the second before easing through 7-5, 6-1.

Now into the quarterfinals, Radwanska is seeking one more win to end a drought dating back to April: the former World No.2 hasn’t reached a semifinal since the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, a streak she’s certainly hoping to snap heading into the US Open.

“I think these kind of matches is always good to have before a Grand Slam,” she said. “It was a great match and I’m really happy I could play my best game. I just hope that I could play the same tennis the next match and be fully prepared for the Grand Slam.”

Radwanska awaits the winner between Caroline Garcia and lucky loser Kirsten Flipkens.

Injuries and withdrawals may have wreaked havoc on the New Haven draw, but Flipkens is one player who’s certainly not complaining. The Belgian was called in at the last minute to replace Lesia Tsurenko, another lucky loser who had to pull out from the main draw with a right knee injury.

“Well, it was a crazy story,” Flipkens said of getting the call to play. “There were so many lucky losers, and I only found out at 12:15 today that I was going to play at two o’clock!”

The Belgian took full advantage of the second chance against Belinda Bencic, defeating the Swiss teenager 6-1, 4-6, 7-5. Bencic served for the match at 5-4 in the third, but Flipkens rallied to win four games in a row and advance.

Along with Radwanska, three other players booked early spots into the New Haven quarterfinals. Ekaterina Makarova grabbed the first quarterfinal berth after a 6-3, 6-2 win over Anastasija Sevastova. Meanwhile, Elena Vesnina booked a clash against the No.10 seed Elina Svitolina. Vesnina made her way to the quarterfinals after Anett Kontaveit retired at 6-4, 1-0, while Svitolina swept past Evgeniya Rodina 6-3, 6-1.

NEW HAVEN, CT, USA – Lucky loser Johanna Larsson is through to her first WTA Premier-level semifinal at the Connecticut Open after a big upset over No.2 seed Roberta Vinci. She sets up a battle against No.10 seed Elina Svitolina, who powered past Elena Vesnina in straight sets.

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At this tournament last year Larsson fell in the qualifying rounds, but today she got her revenge against the same player who ousted her, defeating Vinci, 7-6(9), 6-1.

“Last year I had a tough loss against her in the finals of qualifying,” Larsson recalled after the match. “And I actually remember I was serving for the set in that match as well. I was in the same position today, and I messed it up a little bit, but I was lucky to win today in the tiebreak.”

Larsson was a point away from comfortably taking the opening set 6-4; she had just broken Vinci’s serve with a pair of aggressive forehand returns, and brought up two set points on serve in the next game. But Vinci rallied to break back and keep them level, sending the set into a tiebreaker. The momentum swung back and forth between the two – both of them held set points during the tiebreaker – but Larsson’s dogged defense eventually forced the critical error from Vinci.

The Swede took flight in the second set, breaking Vinci four times to reel off five consecutive games against the Italian, taking the match and a spot in her first Connecticut Open semifinal on her main draw debut.

After the match Vinci, who looked considerably more sluggish in the second set, admitted that a lingering injury played a role in the defeat.

“I’m injured a little bit. I have a little bit of pain of my tendon on left foot,” Vinci explained in press. “On the second set, I was not tired. But I thinking always about my pain, and I lost. But now I have two or three days off before New York to try to recover and stay better for the US Open.”

Larsson’s opponent in the semifinal will be No.10 seed Svitolina, who had all the answers against Vesnina and cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 victory.

Lucky Loser Johanna Larsson is first through to @ConnecticutOpen Semifinals!

Knocks out Vinci 7-6(9), 6-1! #CTOpen pic.twitter.com/rPw5aT8rOA

— WTA (@WTA) August 25, 2016

NEW YORK, NY, USA – Three seeds were planted early on Tuesday – including former No.1 Ana Ivanovic – but as play continued, the game’s biggest names largely found a way to win, and comfortably so.

World No.1 Serena Williams shook off the rust and lingering doubt about the health of her right shoulder with a comprehensive, 6-3, 6-3 victory over 2014 semifinalist Ekaterina Makarova. How is the top seed feeling after a tough opening round test? Listen in on her press conference as she discusses the match, her shoulder rehab, and the inspiration behind her new eye-catching outfit, sleeves and all. 

.@ARadwanska with US Open Series trophy ? ? ? ❤

Congratulations Aga! #Radwanska #ProudOfAga #TeamAga #TrzymajAga pic.twitter.com/xmNydKeONm

— AgaRadwańskaFanClub (@AgaRadwanskaFC) August 31, 2016

Meanwhile, Connecticut Open and Emirates Airline US Open Series winner Agnieszka Radwanska roared past American qualifier Jessica Pegula, dropping just two games en route to the second round. WTA Insider caught up with the Pole on the eve of what she considers to be her least favorite major tournament, and how the former No.2 is feeling about her season thus far.

Plus, get the Insider team’s favorite moments from around the grounds, all in the latest Daily Dispatch from Flushing Meadows:

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NEW YORK, NY, USA – No.5 seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina faced down the barrel of five match points – three in a row during the second set tie-break – to turn the tables on Sam Stosur and Zhang Shuai to reach the third round in women’s doubles, 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-4.

Winners in their last two events at the Rogers Cup and Olympic tennis event, Makarova and Vesnina were pushed to the limit by Stosur and Zhang, leading by a set and a break as Stosur held two match points.

“We hadn’t been able to break her the whole match, and then I remember it was 5-4, 40-15 on her serve,” Vesnina said. “It was a crazy match, and they really played well. We played against them at the French Open, and they really played much better here than there.

“Today was a great atmosphere on the court. It was a full stadium on Court 5; so many people came to watch doubles, which was really nice. We just really had fun today on the court as well; the atmosphere was amazing.”

Makarova and Vesnina raised their level to force a tie-break, but the unseeded duo again took an early lead, and the 2011 US Open champion had the chance to serve out the upset twice more before the Russians rebounded.

“They played really good volleys today, reacting so well,” Makarova added. “I can’t say we were missing a lot but the game was really good and they were really good today.”

Playing their first full match since winning the Gold medal, the pair hopes their career-defining achievement will help them hit even bigger results.

“We’re really happy to be playing here at the US Open,” Vesnina said. We have great memories from winning the title here in 2014. Of course, after Rio, we’re just really happy and motivated even more to do well here at a Grand Slam.”

The 2014 champion in women’s doubles two years ago alongside Vesnina, Makarova was more than happy to still be in the tournament after bowing out in the first round of singles to World No.1 Serena Williams. Vesnina has posited that sticking around for doubles is especially helpful if a player’s singles event ends earlier than she’d like, and it was a sentiment with with her partner was in complete agreement.

“I don’t even remember that I lost so early.It was upsetting for me, but doubles helps me still be at the tournament, fighting for the title, practice some other things. Doubles really helps me for singles for sure.”

Around the grounds, top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic reached the second round with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Japanese alternates Kurumi Nara and Naomi Osaka, while No.12 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova were equally efficient, defeating Lara Arruabarrena and Olga Savchuk, 6-4, 6-1.

No.2 seed Chan Yung-Jan and Chan Hao-Ching ended up on the losing end of a topsy-turvy second round against Alla Kudryavtseva and Sabine Lisicki. Playing just their second match as a pair, Kudryavtseva and Lisicki recovered from a second set bagel to knock out the 2015 quarterfinalists, 6-2, 0-6, 6-3.

“It’s difficult to adjust from more of a doubles player to more of a singles player,” Kudryavtseva told WTA Insider after their first round win. “But Sabine has great volleys; she’s not a typical singles player where she doesn’t know what to do at the net. She knows where she is, where to stand. She’s looking to cross. I’m happy with my choice.”

The Russian doubles star later paired with Scott Lipsky to win another match in mixed doubles, upsetting No.8 seeds Lucie Hradecka and Marcin Matkowski, 7-5, 6-7(3), 11-9.

The @usopen doubles event is underway!@WTA_insider analyzes the field –> https://t.co/HH0TfkgyoY pic.twitter.com/mmHiDxiWIj

— WTA (@WTA) September 1, 2016

NEW YORK, NY, USA – No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska had little trouble overcoming Caroline Garcia in a tidy straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, to advance to the fourth round of the US Open for the fourth time.

“To be honest, I expect, as always, a long and tough match against her,” Radwanska said of her No.25-seeded opponent. “I know what to expect. We know each other for a while. What can I say? Just very happy I could win that match that quick.”

Radwanska had Garcia overwhelmed from the word go, immediately breaking the Frenchwoman’s serve to start the match. Despite Garcia getting the break back right away, she wasn’t able to pressure Radwanska enough after that. The Pole employed her tricky game of slicing and dicing her way through points, breaking Garcia two more times to quickly take the opening set.

Strong serves from @ARadwanska help her easily take the first set 6-2 against #Garcia. #usopen @MBUSA https://t.co/fZ5jMSivfq

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 3, 2016

The second set unfolded much like the first, with Garcia unable to produce her usual tennis against her No.4-ranked opponent. The Frenchwoman hit 34 unforced errors against Radwanska’s five, and produced only 14 winners to Radwanska’s nine. One last backhand error from a frustrated Garcia sent Radwanska into the last 16 after an hour and twelve minutes.

With the win, Radwanska keeps her bid for the WTA’s World No.1 ranking alive. After Garbiñe Muguruza crashed out earlier in the week, Radwanska is now one of three women who could emerge at the top spot at the end of the fortnight, although she faces the daunting task of needing to reach at least the US Open final for the first time in order to do so.

The Pole has yet to make a quarterfinals at this tournament in her previous 10 appearances, and she will face the on-the-rise Croat Ana Konjuh for another chance to try.

“Obviously against Konjuh I played at Wimbledon kind of a drama match, it was not really that long time ago,” Radwanska recalled in her press conference. “For sure she make huge progress last couple of months and she’s really playing good tennis at the moment.”

“Well, just very happy to be in the fourth round, and we’ll see what’s gonna happen.”

Serena Williams will continue her quest for Grand Slam glory on Wednesday as the top half contests its quarterfinals. Chris Oddo previews the matchups at wtatennis.com.

Day 10
Quarterfinal

[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. [5] Simona Halep (ROU #5)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 7-1
Key Stat: Williams struck a 126 mph serve in her round of 16 match with Yaroslava Shvedova. It is the fastest recorded serve at this year’s US Open.

Serena Williams has answered all the questions and then some about her health and form during her first four matches in New York. She has dropped just 20 games and not had her serve broken a single time. After passing Martina Navratilova and Roger Federer on the all-time Grand Slam wins list the 22-time major champion will set her sights upon major title No.23 as the business end of the tournament begins. It starts with a battle with No.5-seeded Simona Halep on Day 10. Halep has won 21 of her last 23 matches and has navigated a very tricky draw to reach the quarterfinals at the US Open for the second consecutive season. Now she must find a way to challenge one of the most daunting, indomitable players to ever step on the Grand Slam stage. Halep says she won’t be nervous to face Serena Williams—she has nothing to lose. “I don’t have to be afraid or to have emotions because I have nothing to lose,” she said on Sunday after defeating Carla Suárez Navarro in straight sets. “It’s just a huge challenge for me. Just playing my game; I will try to do that.” Williams knows that she’ll be up for her stiffest challenge of the fortnight when she faces Halep. The Romanian owns a win against her, which came at the 2014 WTA Finals, but since then Williams has taken three in a row against Halep. Williams says she’s just taking it day by day and hoping she can improve with every round. “I just feel like I’m going out there doing what I need to do,” she said after cruising past Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-2, 6-3, on Day 8. “I’m not overplaying, I’m not underplaying. I’m just trying to play my way into this tournament.”

Pick: Williams in two

Ana Konjuh (POL #92) vs. [10] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #11)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Both players are contesting their first career Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Surprise, surprise! A pair of first-time quarterfinalists are set to square off for a spot in the US Open semifinals, as No.10-seeded Karolina Pliskova will meet 18-year-old Ana Konjuh for the first time on Wednesday. For Pliskova, this opportunity has been a long time coming. The hard-serving Czech and her easy power have made waves on the circuit for two years, but she has been thwarted at the Grand Slam level and failed to reach the second week of a major in her first 17 appearances. That has changed in the last few days. Pliskova pummeled Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to reach the round of 16 on Saturday and on Monday the 24-year-old Czech produced one of the most magical moments of the tournament when she saved a match point to defeat Venus Williams in a third-set tiebreaker. She’s just three matches from a Grand Slam title, but Pliskova is not thinking about anything but her next battle. “I know it’s still far,” she said. “It’s closer than it was yesterday, but it’s still far.” Her opponent is the lowest-ranked and youngest player remaining in the draw, but she’s also one of the most dangerous. Anyone who witnesses Ana Konjuh’s breathtaking victory over No.4-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska on Monday night can see why she’s being touted as a future star. Regularly approaching 120 MPH on serve, and striking with wicked pace from both wings, Konjuh had Radwanska on her back foot all night. Can the Croatian back up her stunning upset with another Top 10 win? Konjuh isn’t putting too much pressure on herself. “I’m still young,” she said. “I still need to experience things. I’m just trying to focus on each player for the day for the match and just give my best.”

Pick: Pliskova in two

By the Numbers:
34 – The age of Serena Williams, who is the oldest player remaining in the draw.
3 – Returning quarterfinalists from 2015 (Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Roberta Vinci).
436 – Pliskova leads the Tour with 436 aces in 53 matches this year.
9 – Of the nine teenagers that started in this year’s US Open main draw, Konjuh is the only one remaining.
1993 – The last time that an American woman has failed to reach the U.S Open quarterfinals.