Moscow: Kuznetsova vs Gavrilova Highlights
Svetlana Kuznetsova takes on Daria Gavrilova in the final of the Kremlin Cup.
Svetlana Kuznetsova takes on Daria Gavrilova in the final of the Kremlin Cup.
After a magnificent opening ceremony in Singapore, Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep were the stars of the show on the first day of the WTA Finals in Singapore.
SINGAPORE – Madison Keys’ slow and steady climb up the Road to Singapore began in the most unexpected place: the European clay season. A fierce hitter who excels on grass and hardcourts, Keys spent the last three seasons dreading the clay season, unmoored by her unrefined movement and necessary patience on the surface.
But something clicked for Keys at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where she proceeded to beat Andrea Petkovic, Petra Kvitova, Timea Babos, and eventual Roland Garros champion Garbiñe Muguruza, to make her first final on the terre battue. From there everything began falling into place.
“I kind of had a slow start to my season,” Keys told reporters at All-Access Hour at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, referring to a left forearm injury she sustained off-court during the off-season. “[Singapore] wasn’t really on the radar. Then even after Rome when I made the finals I noticed I was slowly kind of moving up in the race.
“After winning in Birmingham I was kind of definitely in it at that point. So that’s when I really knew that I could make it, and it became a big goal of mine to be able to get here.”
Keys secured her spot by advancing to the Generali Ladies Linz final last week. Illness forced her to withdraw from the tournament. She spoke with a raspy voice but reassured reporters that she is ready to start her tournament on Sunday against Simona Halep.
“[I] was definitely not feeling good in Linz,” Keys said. “[I’ve] had a couple days to recover and I am feeling a lot better.”
.@Madison_Keys feeling much better from last week, excited for @WTAFinalsSG debut – also eager to fight cyberbullying via @FearlesslyGirl. pic.twitter.com/faZiYsBmto
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) October 22, 2016
Keys has been drawn in the Red Group, which includes Halep, World No.1 Angelique Kerber, and Dominika Cibulkova. It’s a tough group for Keys, who is a combined 2-9 against Kerber and Halep, though she is 3-0 against Cibulkova.
“It’s a big opportunity,” Keys said, when asked how she felt about landing in a group with Kerber and Halep. “It shows these are some of the best players of the year, and the good news is that I have beaten them before. I do know I can do it.”
On Sunday, Keys will be looking to get revenge on Halep, who has beaten her in all three of their meetings this year.
“I’m looking forward to it,” she said “Just playing her in Wuhan, I think she played really well there, but I think a big part was that I got really passive and I got behind the baseline and let her start dictating. That’s going to be something I’m going to have to step up and go for my shots in the smartest way I can, really just believe that I can do it.”
Reflecting on her consistent season, which saw her make the second week of all four majors and eight of 12 tournaments outside of the Slams, Keys pointed to her rankings rise. After winning the Aegon Classic in June she became the first American since Serena Williams in 1999 to make her Top 10 debut.
“I just look at it as a great accomplishment and a huge opportunity to go out and just play tennis and have fun and maybe inspire some more young American girls to pick up some racquets,” Keys said.
“I think highlights were getting into the Top 10 for sure, winning my second title. I think another big highlight was making a final on red clay…in the past I haven’t always loved red clay. Slowly I’m beginning to love it. I think probably the toughest moment has been losing that third and fourth match in Rio,” she said, referring to her run to the semifinals only to lose the bronze medal match. “Definitely one of the toughest matches that I’ve had to play.”
Defs not ok right now. But I left it all out there and I'm proud and honored I got to represent my country. Thanks for the love ???#TeamUSA
— Madison Keys (@Madison_Keys) August 13, 2016
Speaking of adversity, the discussion turned to the topic of cyberbullying. Keys has occasionally posted screen grabs of the horrible tweets she receives on social media after losses, and more players have done the same over recent months. The 21-year-old says it’s a problem she hopes social media companies address soon.
“I think just showing that it’s kind of a daily struggle that all of us are dealing with,” Keys said when asked why she does posts the vile comments, which can veer into pure racism and sexism, particularly from men who have lost money betting on her matches. “Sometimes it just becomes too much. I just think there has to be a way to kind of monitor it a little bit more. It seems like a lot of times we’ll report a person and we get a response that they couldn’t find enough evidence that they did anything.
“So I think social media has to be able to kind of help us in that sense. But also just [to show] that it’s happening, and we as people have to do the best that we can to stop it, which is a big part of why I’m doing FearlesslyGIRL, going into schools where cyberbullying is also happening, and stopping it at a younger age I think could be really beneficial.”
An interview with Svetlana Kuznetsova after her win in the final of the Kremlin Cup.
SINGAPORE – Karolina Pliskova is set to make her tournament debut on Monday, when she faces Roland Garros champion Garbiñe Muguruza in her opening match at the at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Pliskova will be pulling double duty in Singapore, having qualified in both singles, where she’s been drawn into the White Group, and doubles with her partner Julia Goerges.
While playing both events in the past may have been physically taxing, Pliskova is less concerned this year. The doubles competition has moved from a round-robin event to a single elimination draw which begins on Thursday.
“I’m used to playing singles and doubles so I’m not really worried about this,” the No.4 seed told reporters at All-Access Hour on Saturday. “I just take it match by match. I am starting singles on Monday, and this year it’s a little bit different than last year, so there is a draw of the doubles, not a group. It can be different – can be potentially be only one match in doubles. It’s starting on Thursday, so I have those few first days only singles. So I think it’s definitely better.
“But I’m ready for anything. I’m ready to play two matches in a day.”
The US Open finalist secured her spot in Singapore at the China Open and comes into Singapore well-rested.
“I was tired a little bit in Asia because when I came back from [the] States I didn’t have much time to practice and rest and prepare for the tournaments as I did for the ones in States,” she said. “Now I just took a few days off. I skipped those tournaments in Linz and Moscow, so I prepared for this last few weeks of tennis. There is Fed Cup for me after, and now I feel ready. I’m able to do anything to play [my] best tennis. I know it’s [the] last two or three weeks of tennis in this season for me, so I will try to do my best.”
Media day and selfie with @TheRealPatCash pic.twitter.com/e5XGBvS15H
— Karolina Pliskova (@KaPliskova) October 22, 2016
Pliskova’s late season surge on the US hardcourts set up her Singapore debut, having won the title at the Western & Southern Open and making her first major final at the US Open, beating both Venus and Serena Williams en route. Prior to New York the 24-year-old had never progressed past the third round of a Slam and it was her second-round loss to Misaki Doi that seemed to light a fire under her.
“At Wimbledon, I was really feeling well. I think I had a pretty good draw as well to make it even far and just didn’t make it,” Pliskova said when asked to recall her toughest loss of the season. “I didn’t play good tennis there. Yeah, lost in second round with the opponent I beat the week before. I think [that] was the worst week for me.
“I don’t feel any pressure [in Singapore]. I would say there is pressure during all the year on all the players, but this is the best tournament that you can play, so I don’t feel pressure. There are other girls which are in front of me, so I would say I’m not the favorite for winning this one. I will just do my best [tp] win every match and do anything what I can to go out of the group.
“I have a very tough group: Aga, defending champion, so it’s not going to be easy. I’m just going to enjoy. It’s not happening every year that you’re going to get here. [I’m] just going to enjoy the chance that I have to play here.”
Looking ahead to her showdown with Muguruza, Pliskova has reasons to be confident. She leads the head-to-head 3-1 and has won their last three matches, all on hard courts (Muguruza’s sole win came at the French Open in 2013).
“She’s a player [whose game I like]. She has a similar game as me. It’s possible to lose to her, and to win as well if you play good tennis. I’m really confident about the match and just on the positive from the last meeting what we had in Cincinnati. I was playing really good tennis there. For me it’s still the same. I have to serve well and play fast so she doesn’t have time to dictate the game. She has to be the one who’s running and not me.”
SINGAPORE – Most of the time, players tend to offer identical analysis of a tournament’s court speed. Clay is slower than hardcourts, which are, in turn, slower than grass and indoor courts. But within that hierarchy lies a maddening gradient of quick clay courts and slow hardcourts that can make it difficult to assess which court will favor a player on any given week.
Speaking at Saturday’s All-Access hour, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova, Garbiñe Muguruza, Madison Keys, and Dominika Cibulkova were all asked to give their take on the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global’s Centre Court. The consensus was admittedly hard to gauge.
“I don’t remember last year, but I think it’s so slow,” Muguruza said. “It’s so slow. I think there’s going to be hard matches in that surface.
“But I love the court. It’s such a great show and environment, so we’ll put the effort there.”
Coming from the Generali Ladies Linz, Keys agreed that the court was slower than a player might find at the average indoor, but even that criticism is relative.
“They’re playing a little bit slower than what Linz was playing, but it was actually really nice to be able to go and play an indoor tournament and then come here. It feels pretty similar. The ball stays really low. Definitely a faster court, so I’m not complaining about that.”
Winning Linz to qualify for Singapore, Cibulkova thought it had less to do with speed and more to do with bounce, which will be crucial for the big-hitting Slovak to get her rhythm on Sunday’s first round robin match against Halep.
“I thought the surface would be pretty similar [to Linz], but it’s not. It’s very different. It bounces and it’s a little bit faster.
“So I still have to get used to it. It’s good that it’s at least indoor, that I don’t have to get used to indoor and outdoor.”
Runner-up in 2014, Halep pointed to the slowness of the court as one of the reasons why she liked playing at the WTA Finals, but Pliskova wasn’t sure the court played as slow as her colleagues insisted.
“I definitely wouldn’t say it’s fast, but it could be slower. I’ve played on slower surfaces so I was expecting it’s going to be even slower what I heard from last year from the girls.
“I would say it’s somewhere in the middle. For the serve I think it’s pretty fast, but when you play the rally it’s not that fast.
“Hopefully for the crowd they are going to see some rallies and good shots from the players.”
One would expect Radwanska, the defending champion, to have the definitive answer when it came to court speed. The Pole ultimately seemed as mystified as her peers, but if there’s one thing the shotmaker knows how to do on any surface, it’s improvise:
Q. You were here a couple days ago. One of earliest players here. Have you had a hit on court? Have the conditions changed from last year?
AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: I think, of course, the surface is very similar [to last year]. It’s the same. I think it’s a bit faster because it’s already been used [this week]. But I don’t think it’s that slow as last year. That’s what I notice.
But, well, it’s always a little bit tough for us to play indoors. I think I just play one indoor tournament in Stuttgart and then here. It’s good to be here a couple days earlier to adjust to the conditions.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
Svetlana Kuznetsova has Friday’s shot of the day at the Kremlin Cup.
LUXEMBOURG – Third time’s a charm for Monica Niculescu, who upset the top seed Petra Kvitova to win the title in her third appearance at the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open final.
Watch live action from Moscow & Luxembourg this week at WTA Live Powered By TennisTV!
The Romanian made back to back runs to the final here in 2011 and 2012, but each time fell just short of capturing the title. But this time, Niculescu started out strong and finished even stronger, steamrolling to a 6-4, 6-0 victory to claim her first WTA title of the year.
“It was my best match this year!” Niculescu said in her post-match press conference. “I felt fantastic on the court, and after I took the first set I felt even better. I was feeling very light on the court and was catching every ball. I felt like nothing surprised me.”
“But, wow, to beat Petra in the final? That’s the best moment in my life, I think!”
A sensational performance from Monica Niculescu gives her a third career title, winning @Iwtp_lux over Kvitova 6-4, 6-0. pic.twitter.com/Gytaa7kZLe
— WTA (@WTA) October 22, 2016
Niculescu peppered her game with her signature slices, giving Kvitova plenty of trouble from the start. She broke comfortably in Kvitova’s opening service game and once again to widen the gap and earn a 4-1 lead. The Czech grabbed one of the breaks back but Niculescu clung to her lead, covering the court and powered on to take the opening set.
From here it was all Niculescu, as the Romanian rattled off the next six games to diffuse Kvitova’s lefty serve and completely shut her out of the match, claiming her first title at Luxembourg after an hour and eight minutes.
“I just have to congratulate ‘Moni’ on a great week,” Kvitova acknowledged at the trophy ceremony. “You caught everything today, it’s too bad I had to play against you! Congrats to your team and enjoy your off season.”
In her happy @Iwtp_lux trophy speech, Monica Niculescu said today is her mom's birthday, making her 3rd title a great gift! pic.twitter.com/e7JCOnYvkW
— WTA (@WTA) October 22, 2016
She also sent a shout out to the Czech U-21s National Football Team, who were out in full force to support their compatriot during the final.
Niculescu was similarly full of effusive praise for her opponent after the final.
“You had a great week, you are a very nice person I think it was a very nice final,” she enthused during her speech. “I know you’re not done – I know you still have Zhuhai! I wish you all the best and I know you can do it!
“I wish you all the best for Zhuhai – you’re a great player and I know you can do it!”
Svetlana Kuznetsova takes on Elina Svitolina in the semifinal of the Kremlin Cup.