Tennis News

MIAMI, FL, USA – No.3 seed Simona Halep was pushed to the brink in a late night epic against Sam Stosur, needing to come back from a set down and save match point to book her spot into the Miami Open quarterfinals.

Halep books a blockbuster battle against Johanna Konta after emerging victorious in the two-hour-and-ten minute thriller, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

“It was a tough match, like I expected,” Halep told press after the match. “But the comeback was pretty good, and I’m really happy about that.

“The last comeback like this for me was in 2014, my first match in Doha against Kanepi. Match point down and I came back. I’m happy about this, shows I can still play some tennis.”

3rd Set!!@Simona_Halep saves a match point to force a decider vs Stosur 4-6, 7-5! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/s103xofKtn

— WTA (@WTA) 28 de marzo de 2017

The Romanian targeted the Aussie’s backhand throughout the early exchanges in the opening set, and was rewarded with an early break. She built up a solid 4-2 lead and looked set to wrap up the opening set, but Stosur had other plans.

Stosur got her heavy topspin forehand going and wreaking havoc on Halep’s game plan, and reeled off four straight games to snatch away the opening set. She went on a tear in the second, recovering from an early break and winning five of the next six games to serve for the match.

She even held a match point, at 5-4 on Halep’s serve, but the Romanian chose that moment to start mounting her epic comeback. A handful of loose errors from Stosur on key moments let Halep back into the set, and she took the next seven games in a row to take the second set and a break lead in the third.

With Stosur flagging and letting her aggression dip slightly, it was Halep who bossed the rallies and dictated play to extend the lead to 4-1. The Aussie didn’t have another comeback left in her, and Halep completed the comeback to move into the Miami quarterfinals.

Comeback Complete✔️@Simona_Halep saves a MATCH POINT to edge Stosur 4-6, 7-5, 6-2! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/0qeasy9VQ4

— WTA (@WTA) 28 de marzo de 2017

“When I was down, I wasn’t thinking about anything, nothing about the score,” Halep said. “I just wanted to fight. I didn’t give up, and I believed in my chance. I was maybe a little bit lucky because I came back from match point down, but still I fought for this.”

Halep will be rewarded for her efforts with another battle in the next round, this time against Britain’s No.1, Konta.

“It will be tough. She’s in a good form now, she’s near Top 10. And she plays great. It’s going to be a tough one, but here every match is tough so I don’t expect an easy one.

“I have my chance here to try my best and try to win, and of course tomorrow will help me to recover. Then I will go on court with confidence.”

A blockbuster battle between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova highlights the Day 9 schedule in Melbourne as quarterfinal action begins. Here’s a preview of what’s on tap.

Tuesday, Day 9
Quarterfinals

[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. [5] Maria Sharapova (RUS # 5)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 18-2
Key Stat: Williams has won 17 straight decisions against Sharapova, a streak that dates back more than a decade.

There’s no denying that the numbers make a case for a predictable outcome. Serena Williams has—quite remarkably—defeated Maria Sharapova on 17 consecutive occasions and only lost three of her last 37 sets against the Russian, and yet when these two iconic forces meet there is always an air of electricity surrounding the affair. That can be chalked up to several factors. One, starpower; Two, sheer athleticism; Three, competitive fire. Both Sharapova and Williams possess all three of the aforementioned entities in spades, and plenty of Grand Slam hardware to boot. And even though Williams has thoroughly dominated this rivalry over the last 11 years, the one-sidedness has not detracted from the intrigue. “Every match is new,” Williams said of the upcoming quarterfinal with Sharapova. “You know, she always brings in something new and something special.”

Williams remains confident in her game after four breezy wins in Melbourne but she admits that the psychology of having such a long winning streak against a formidable opponent creates a strange dynamic. “I think the person who is winning could definitely feel the pressure because there is a lot of expectations,” she says. Meanwhile, Sharapova enters the matchup with a sense of brimming hope. She’s serving as well as she ever has, as 37 aces in her last two matches can attest, and she’s upped the aggression in her ground game, which could help her avoid having her movement exposed by the quicker Williams. “You’re always trying to improve,” Sharapova said on Sunday after her fourth-round win over Belinda Bencic. “I got myself into the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam. There is no reason I shouldn’t be looking to improve and to getting my game in a better position.” Could these new wrinkles help Sharapova finally get over the hump against Williams? Or will Williams once again prove to be an unsolvable puzzle for the hard-hitting Russian?

Pick: Williams in three

[4] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #4) vs. [10] Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP # 11)
Head-to-head: Radwanska leads, 3-1 (counting Fed Cup)
Key Stat: Radwanska is currently on a 12-match winning streak that dates back to last year’s WTA Finals in Singapore.

Two of the tour’s most cherished players will duke it out for a coveted semifinal slot at the year’s first major. Radwanska, a semifinalist in 2014 in Melbourne, has won three of four matches against Suárez Navarro, but dropped the pair’s last meeting in Miami last year. Though the Pole comes in as the hottest player on the WTA Tour at the moment, she knows she’ll be in for a tough, physical encounter against the resourceful Suárez Navarro. As for the 27-year-old Spaniard, she’s quite familiar with Radwanska’s tactics and form, and knows she’ll have to be on point in order to reach her first career Grand Slam semifinal. “We had really tough matches in the past,” Suárez Navarro said of matching up with Radwanska after dispatching Daria Gavrilova on Day 7. “I know it will be tough for me. I know that because of her style, you have to run a lot, you have to think every point what to do.”
Radwanska had to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat on Sunday, reeling off five consecutive games in the final set to defeat Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam, and the magical finish has her thinking that she could be destined for a career-best run down under. “I’m just very happy that I could win the last point,” she said, adding: “I just hope I can go further and do one step forward, make the final.”

Pick: Radwanska in three

Jarmila Wolfe has announced that she and her husband are expecting a baby.

The Australian revealed the news on social media.

This is one of my favorite post I could share with y'all! With joy and pride we would love to share that there will be a little Wolfe soon ❤ pic.twitter.com/JNEIpeNSeL

— Jarmila Wolfe (@tennis_jarkag) March 28, 2017

Unsurprisingly, she was immediately deluged with congratulations.

Congratulations Jarka and Adam! We can't wait to meet the little Wolfe ? https://t.co/6cZdpqGDTN

— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) March 29, 2017

Wolfe retired from tennis at the start of 2017.

MELBOURNE, Australia – World No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska booked her spot in the Australian Open semifinals for the second time, winning over Carla Suárez Navarro 6-1, 6-3 in the first match of the day on Rod Laver Arena.

The match was billed as a meeting of two of the more cerebral players on tour – both rely on craftiness and shot variety to win in an era dominated by big hitters. The pair had faced each other before, with Radwanska winning three of the four encounters but Suárez Navarro – who was looking for a spot in her first Grand Slam semifinal – won their most recent match.

“We had really tough matches in the past,” Suárez Navarro stated in the previous round’s post-match press conference. “I know it will be tough for me. I know that because of her style, you have to run a lot, you have to think every point what to do.”

Suárez Navarro and Radwanska had fought through tough and emotional fourth round matches, where both had to come back from a set down to advance. But at the quarterfinal stage, their matchup was much more straight forward.

Radwanska took the lead from the start, breaking Suárez Navarro’s serve in the first game then winning the next five out of six to close out the set, 6-1. The Spaniard gave more of a pushback in the second set; she broke Radwanska’s serve twice and hung tight at 3-3. But from then it was all Radwanska, who won the next three games and the match at 6-3.

Suárez Navarro found herself unable to keep pace with Radwanska’s all court game – she hit 45 unforced errors while Radwanska, who is typically stingy with the errors, hit just 13.

The Polish No.4 seed has now won 22 of her last 23 matches and is through to the semifinals, where she’s set to face the winner of the blockbuster quarterfinal match between Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams. She trails both players in their head-to-head, 0-8 to Williams and 2-13 to Sharapova, so she’s approaching Thursday’s match by not letting the pressure weigh her down.

“Right now I don’t really have anything to lose,” Radwanska told Rennae Stubbs after the match. “It doesn’t matter who I’m going to play against.

“I’m going to have a good rest and hope I can play my best tennis. Otherwise I’m going to be in big trouble.”