Tennis News

BEIJING, China – World No.1 Angelique Kerber overcame a spirited rearguard effort – and some inspired shotmaking – from Barbora Strycova on Wednesday to take her place in the third round of the China Open.

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In an entertaining conclusion, Kerber twice failed to serve out the match before finally completing a 6-3, 7-6(4) victory. The German will now face Elina Svitolina for a place in the quarterfinals.

“The match was on a really high level at the end of the second set. We run a lot, both of us. I think we both have a great return, so I think that was also the key from both of us to breaking back,” Kerber said. “She breaks me back, and then I break her back.

“The games were still close. It was not like I lost my serve to zero or 15. There were still good points during my service games.”

After dominating their first four meetings on tour, Kerber has found Strycova a more difficult nut to crack this year. In Madrid, the Czech ran out a surprisingly comfortable straight-set winner, before threatening to repeat the upset in Cincinnati.

Once again, Kerber found Strycova in combative mood, testing her nerve as the finishing line beckoned. Several times the top seed looked to have broken her opponent’s will, yet each time she was unable to deliver the final blow.

Even with a commanding lead in the tie-break, Strycova continued to chase down lost causes, reducing her arrears to 4-3 before finally succumbing when she pulled a weary forehand wide.

“It was back and forth. In the final tie-break, I was just trying to forget about everything that happened before, just being in the tie-break, starting from zero,” Kerber added. “I was 4-0. She came back again. It was actually an up-and-down tie-break as well. But finally I won it, so it was a good match at the end for me.”

BEIJING, China – Petra Kvitova put on a stunning performance to close out Wednesday’s night session at the China Open, decisively dispatching defending champion Garbiñe Muguruza, 6-1, 6-4, to not only reach the quarterfinals in Beijing, but also preserve her hopes of earning a late berth to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

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Kvitova came into the match on a seven-match winning streak, having won the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open for the second time in three years. Playing emphatic tennis throughout the 72 minute encounter, the Olympic Bronze medalist struck 27 winners to just 15 unforced errors against Muguruza, the 2015 winner, who hit only five winners of her own.

“I’ve played eight matches in 10 or 11 days, and I’m still going!” Kvitova joked with WTA Insider. “For sure, I’m feeling it; I do feel a few spots, but when I’m standing on the court, the adrenaline is there. I’m feeling very mentally tough right now, and that’s my strength, for sure.

“I know my game is there, which helps a lot with confidence; I just have to hit it how I can, and that’s most important.”

Breaking serve three times, the former World No.2 saved the only break point she faced to book a rematch with No.8 seed Madison Keys, whom she defeated for the bronze medal in Rio.

“That was a great match, for sure. It was a great battle, and both of us had a great level of game last time. I think it’ll be the same when we play again. I know she’s serving well, so that’ll probably be key for me to stay on my serve and wait for my chances and return – somehow!

“I think she’s similar to Garbiñe, or even me, so that helps.”

A WTA Finals champion in 2011, Kvitova was looking like a longshot to make her sixth career appearance at the year-end championships before catching fire after the Olympics, making the second week of the US Open – where she fell to eventual champion and future World No.1 Angelique Kerber – and blitzing the field in Wuhan, avenging the loss to Kerber and dropping a combined five games against Simona Halep and Dominika Cibulkova to win the title.

Should she win a second title in two weeks, the two-time Wimbledon winner would enter the Top 8 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard, but rest and recovery will be the main priority during a well-deserved day off.

“I’ll probably just go to the gym tomorrow; I’ve had a lot of hours of play, and even my racquets and shoes are tired. They need a rest!”

BEIJING, China – No.8 seed Madison Keys completed a spectacular comeback against Svetlana Kuznetsova to become the first to advance to the quarterfinals of the China Open.

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Down 2-5 in the first set and facing set point, Keys rallied to turn the match around and win 7-6(2), 6-2 in an hour and thirty-six minutes.

Keys is one of several players on the Singapore bubble, wrestling for a spot in her first BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. She even can qualify this week as long as she reaches the final in Beijing; she took one step closer tonight against Kuznetsova.

“Some days I use it as my motivation to try harder, but sometimes it makes me more nervous and puts pressure on me,” Keys told WTA Insider of her potential to qualify for Singapore.

“I’m that close, I want to put myself in the best position possible and be able to walk away, whether I qualify or not, knowing that I did everything I could to get there.”

But Singapore looked a long ways away when Kuznetsova broke Keys’ serve to start out the match, keeping the American on the run and returning deep into the court to leave her opponent scrambling. Some loose forehands have Kuznetsova a second break for a 5-2 lead, and suddenly Kuznetsova was serving for the set.

The Russian held a set point and looked set to close it out, but a pair of double faults put Keys right back in it and the American ripped a backhand down the line to begin her comeback.

“I was 5-2 up and serving for the set two times, but then in a couple games Madison went for her shots and she made them,” Kuznetsova said after the match. “There was a couple of netcords unlucky, too, and then the game was equal.”

“She got her game on, and I lost mine, a little bit. That’s basically what changed.”

Keys broke back once more to level the match at 5-5 and the pair held firm to send the match into a tiebreak, where Keys allowed Kuznetsova just two points on her way to clinching the opening set.

“It just seemed like I was trying to figure out her serve and how she was playing, but I wasn’t executing well,” Keys explained to WTA Insider. “I was maybe just going for too much on my shots.”

“I just – well, I just told myself a bad word and said, ‘Get it together!’ And after that I played a good game and got some confidence back.”

The American broke Kuznetsova three more times in the second set to complete her comeback, taking the first spot in the quarterfinals.

Keys’ road to the Beijing final won’t get any easier, though; she will face Wuhan champion Petra Kvitova for a shot at the China Open semifinals after the Czech swept past defending champion Garbiñe Muguruza later in the day.