On Sunday afternoon at the Stuttgart event, Angelique Kerber overcame Caroline Wozniacki to lift the title of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2015 . She won the match 3-6, 6-1, 7-5
Kerber won the trophy playing the second and the third set with strength and determination
Following an impressive week of varied results and unexpected upsets, Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki are through to the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix event, where they will meet for the 10th time to determine who will lift the title and win the Porsche car. Kerber leads the head-to-head series 5-4.
Watch the final match live: Kerber vs Wozniacki Live Streaming
In a grueling and impressive display of tennis that lasted nearly three hours of court time, Caroline Wozniacki was able to get past Simona Halep to secure her spot in the final in Stuttgart. The two exchanged blows and split sets until Wozniacki found the pivotal breakthrough in the decider to secure the victory 7-5, 5-7, 6-2. The win sends Wozniacki to her first Premier level final since the Moscow Open in 2012.
“I had my chances to close it out in the second set but I didn’t, but then you just have to suck it up and play a third set – there’s nothing else you can do about it,” Wozniacki said. “I came out strong there and just tried to keep it going. I knew I had loads of energy left for the third set. That’s what I was going for, to try to stay longer in the rallies, make her run, and stay aggressive, and that’s really what I did.”
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In her final obstacle at this event, Wozniacki will come up against the soaring Angelique Kerber, who halted Madison Brengle’s impressive run to the final with a 6-3, 6-1 victory. The German is now on a 10-match win streak on clay and is yet to suffer a defeat on that surface this season. She will next come up against the Dane, whom she holds a lead against in the head-to-head series.
“We both want to win,” Wozniacki said. “It’s all about momentum and all about trying to win the important points, keep your serve, be aggressive, be defensive when you need to – it’s going to be a tough match. Finals is finals, and that means both players have played well to reach that final.”
Of their nine previous meetings on the professional tour, Kerber leads the head-to-head series 5-4.This is jus their second meeting on clay, yet Kerber showed her dominance on this surface with a lopsided victory on that surface back in 2012.
Prediction: Angelique Kerber in Three Sets
Once again, for just the second time in the tournament’s history, a non-Spanish native will look to win the Barcelona Open title. Kei Nishikori, who is the defending champion, will look to retain his title with a victory over Spain’s Pablo Andujar. This marks the fourth time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with Nishikori leading the head to head series 2-1.
Watch the final match live: Nishikori vs Andujar Live Streaming
In a breezy match en route to the tournament final, Kei Nishikori defeated Martin Klizan 6-1, 6-2 to further his campaign for a second crown in Barcelona. The Japanese No. 1 hit 25 winners and saved all six of the break points he faced to secure the victory.
“I’m delighted to be playing the final again,” said Nishikori. “You don’t usually play two finals in a row, especially in such a difficult tournament, with many great players. Lifting the trophy here last year gave me a lot of confidence and I think I changed my way of playing on clay.
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“I’ve become more aggressive, my service is better and so is my return. I guess my style is becoming more Spanish. I still feel more comfortable on hard court than on clay but these last four matches have been great and I think they’ve helped me improve.”
In a surprising upset, former four-time finalist David Ferrer was ousted from the Barcelona Open following a straight sets loss to Pablo Andujar. Andujar struck 32 winners to close out the match 7-6(6), 6-3.
This is just the fourth time that Nishikori and Andujar will cross paths on the ATP World Tour, with Nishikori leading the head-to-head series 2-1, including the most recent encounter at last year’s US Open. However, Andujar won their sole clay court encounter at the Madrid Masters in 2013 and it will be interesting if he can topple the Japanese No. 1 once again on his preferred surface.
Prediction: Kei Nishikori in Three Sets
On Sunday 26 April 2015 at Porsche Arena Angelique Kerber will meet Caroline Wozniacki for the final of Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2015
The current ranking 14 Kerber and the current ranking 5 Wozniacki will face each other for the tenth time. Head 2 Head Comparison
Pablo Andujar won David Ferrer 7-6(6), 6-3 and in Sunday’s final will face defending champion Kei Nishikori
On the road to the final, Andujar defeated Albert Ramos, Leonardo Mayer, Feliciano Lopez, Fabio Fognini and Ferrer.
Andujar and Nishikori faced each other three times in the past. Nishikori won the matches on the hard surface and Andujar won on the clay surface.
Kei Nishikori is closing in on a successful title defense at the Barcelona Open. He is through to the semi-final stage of the tournament, where he will next come up against intriguing foe Martin Klizan. This is just their second meeting on the professional tour, with the Slovak leading the head-to-head series 1-0. His win was a recent one – a straight sets victory over Nishikori in the opening round of the 2014 French Open, which sets up an intriguing berth for Saturday.
The Japanese No. 1 reached the final four in Barcelona with a three set victory over Roberto Bautista Agut. He defeated the Spaniard 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 in a rollercoaster meeting. Nishikori struck five aces, 25 winners and converted four break points to finish the match in one hour and 41 minutes of court time.
“I’m really happy with the way I’m playing right now, especially in the third set,” said Nishikori. “It was a really tough match.”
Nishikori will next come up against Martin Klizan, who only needed straight sets to oust another Spaniard, Tommy Robredo. He defeated the 2004 champion 7-6(5), 6-4 in an impressive performance overall. He withstood eight aces, won 89% of his first service points and saved all six of the break points he faced to close out the match in one hour and 40 minutes.
This is just the second time that these two players will meet on the ATP World Tour and it is certainly set to be an intriguing encounter marked by a potential upset. Klizan holds a win against the Japanese No. 1 and US Open runner up at the clay court Grand Slam last season, and a dominant one at that. It will be interesting to see how Nishikori handles that memory as he attempts to avenge that loss and bring the head-to-head series to equal terms.
Although many expected Italy’s Fabio Fognini to continue is momentum following a straight sets win against Rafael Nadal — his second of the season – instead we are offered an all-Spanish final four berth between David Ferrer and Pablo Andujar. This will marks the fourth time that the two competitors cross paths on the professional tour, with Ferrer leading the series 3-0. This is also their fourth encounter on clay.
Seeded third at this year’s tournament, David Ferrer secured his spot in the semi-final stage in Barcelona with a straight sets win against Philipp Kohlschreiber. It was a straightforward match, one that Ferrer harnessed the support of his fellow countrymen in the stands to close out the match 6-3, 7-6(5). He won 69% of his total service points, saved five break points, and converted five of his own to win the match in a total of one hour and 44 minutes. The win extended his head-to-head record against Kohlschreiber to 11-2 with nine consecutive wins dating back over eight years.
“Now I am in the semi-final, and I’m very happy for that,” said Ferrer.
The Spaniard will come up against Pablo Andujar in his final obstacle en route to the tournament final. Andujar defeated Fabio Fognini, the player who toppled clay court king Rafael Nadal for a second time this season on clay, in straight sets to secure his spot in the semi-final round in Barcelona. He won 73% of his first service points and converted five break points en route to the 6-1, 6-3 win in one hour and five minutes.
This marks the fourth time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour. Ferrer leads the head-to-head series 3-0, all wins on clay. He should have little trouble notching another win in the rivalry on their consistent surface to secure a spot in his fifth Barcelona Open final.
Following an entertaining encounter earlier this season, Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki and will meet for a spot in the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix tournament in Stuttgart on Saturday afternoon. This is just the third time that the two top competitors will cross paths on the professional tour with Halep leading the head-to-head series 2-1.
In a seesaw encounter that saw a bizarre number of breaks, Simona Halep was able to maintain her form at the pivotal moments to secure the 6-4, 6-4 victory over Sara Errani. It was her second impressive clay court showing of the season, as she defeated Garbine Muguruza in her first match in the clay portion of the year.
“I’m happy because I need matches at the beginning of the clay season,” Halep said. “So, it was good that I had a tough opponent in the first round who was hitting the ball very strong, and today I had a different one.
“Errani’s balls are very heavy to play. I did a great job today with my return and I stayed very close to the baseline, and I just tried to open the court more and to finish the balls, to make winners. I couldn’t too many but it was a good match I think.”
In a far different encounter from her upcoming opponent, Caroline Wozniacki managed to breeze past Carla Suarez Navarro 6-0, 6-3 to secure her spot in the semi-final round in Stuttgart.
“I played well today. Ran a lot of balls down, played aggressively and went from offence to defense and back which is good. I was very pleased with my performance.”
Following a tied head-to-head series, Halep and Wozniacki faced off at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships to determine who would win the rubber match. Wozniacki won their first meeting at this event three years ago, while Halep avenged that loss in New Haven in 2013. In the end, it was Halep who rallied back to close out the match in three sets. This marks their first meeting on clay and that only adds another layer of intrigue to the encounter.
Following a slew of shocking losses in her last few tournaments, Agnieszka Radwanska has announced her split with tennis legend Martina Navratilova.
The partnership began at the start of the 2015 season but it appears that the Polish No. 1’s recent trend of frustrating losses, coupled with Navratilova’s inability to commit full-time to the job, made the split an all-too-real option for Radwanska.
“I just wanted to thank Martina for her time and efforts over these last few months,” Radwanska wrote on twitter. “It was a great experience to work with one of the all time greats. However, we both agreed that as Martina could not commit 100% to the project then it was not going to work as a long-term partnership. We will stay friends and I wish her all the best in her personal and professional life.”
Navratilova’s partnership with Aga was the latest in a long line in star coaching roles over the past few years; Andy Murray sparked the trend when he hired Ivan Lendl then Amelie Mauresmo; Novak Djokovic brought Boris Becker on board; Marin Cilic partnered with Goran Ivanisevic to win his maiden Grand Slam title; Roger Federer teamed up with his idol Stefan Edberg, while Kei Nishikori joined forces with Michael Chang.
Navratilova won 167 WTA titles over the span of her illustrious career, 18 of which were Grand Slam singles titles and won her last Grand Slam mixed doubles title at the US Open in 2006. Her rivalry with Chris Evert goes down as one of the biggest rivalries in women’s tennis, having played each other a total of 80 times, with Navratilova leading the series 43-37.
Simona Halep managed to overcome her tough adversary on Wednesday evening to secure her spot in the quarter-final stage of the Porsche Tennis Grad Prix event. The Romanian will next come up against Sara Errani, whom she has encountered twice previously on the WTA tour. With the Halep v Errani head-to-head series tied at 1-1, this will serve as the rubber match to hand the rivalry lead to one of the two talents.
In her first clay court encounter of the season, Simona Halep was faced with another opponent who had defeated her in their two previous encounters on the WTA tour, Garbine Muguruza. This time, however, Halep overcame her rival in a tough three-set battle to secure her spot in the quarter-final round in Stuttgart. She lost the opening set, breezed through the second set, and fought hard to secure the pivotal break that led her to the 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory. The Romanian won 63% of her first service points and saved five break points to secure the victory in one hour and 48 minutes.
It was Halep’s 25th win on the tour this season, and was the first player on the WTA to reach that mark so far this season.
In a much easier match, Sara Errani cruised into the quarter-final round of the tournament with a 6-4, 6-1 victory against Zarina Diyas. She won 90% of her service points and broke serve five times to win the match in one hour and 15 minutes.
Halep and Errani will cross paths on the professional tour for the third time – a rubber match that will separate the 1-1 head-to-head record that they compiled over the past couple of years. After trading wins in 2013-14, the two Europeans will clash for the first time on clay to determine who will advance to the semi-final stage of the event.