Cibulkova’s Empire State Of Mind
Before the US Open kicked off, Dominika Cibulkova climbed to the top of the Empire State Building to take in the most impressive view in all of New York City.
Before the US Open kicked off, Dominika Cibulkova climbed to the top of the Empire State Building to take in the most impressive view in all of New York City.
NEW YORK, NY, USA – Following her US Open triumph, new World No.1 Angelique Kerber has taken a post-win media tour across the Atlantic from New York to Germany.
The German met up with men’s champion Stan Wawrinka for a guest appearance at the long-running Live With Kelly, where she met award-winning actor Patrick Dempsey backstage. Kerber also took a stroll through Central Park for a walk-and-talk interview with Pat Cash.
Finally, Kerber touched down at home to receive a brand new Porsche to commemorate her best-ever season, one that saw her capture two Grand Slam titles in three final appearances, win a silver medal at the Olympic tennis event, and, of course, become the first German to become No.1 since idol Stefanie Graf.
Check out the best photos below:
All photos courtesy of David Russell-Disney/ABC Home Entertainment and TV Distribution and Getty Images.
TOKYO, Japan – No.4 seed Johanna Larsson powered past Sabine Lisicki in straight sets to advance in a day full of upsets at the Hashimoto Sogyo Japan Women’s Open Tennis.
Lisicki, who owns the WTA’s fastest serve, was broken six times in her 6-3, 6-2 defeat to Larsson.
Meanwhile, Aliaksandra Sasnovich left home fans at the Ariake Tennis Forest Park stunned when she took down the No.1 seed Misaki Doi in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3.
“I don’t get many opportunities to play in Japan, and also as a top seed I wanted to win. It’s disappointing it ended this way,” Japan’s No.1 told The Japan Times. “I couldn’t snatch it when it was a close contest late in the first set and that gave her an extra momentum, I needed to win there to stop her.”
“There were no free points with my service game, all the games were tight even with those that I managed to hold and I could never get that conviction when I served.”
No.2 seed Yanina Wickmayer, the defending champion, was also ousted in straight sets by Viktorija Golubic, 6-1, 7-6(7).
“There’s a lot more pressure when you are defending a title, and especially because I came back after I injured myself before the U.S. Open,” Wickmayer said afterwards. “It was tough for me in general.”
“I think in the second set I got to drop shots a bit better, but the fact that she had the chance to play many drop shots means I didn’t play the right way. She’s a really smart player so she did what she had to do.”
Katerina Siniakova cruised in her 6-1, 6-4 win against lucky loser Antonia Lottner. Korean qualifier Su Jeong Jang, ranked No.186, scored a big upset Saisai Zheng, coming back from a set down to advance 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
With rain washing away most of today’s action, No.3 seed Yulia Putintseva will take the court tomorrow along with Japan’s No.2 Naomi Osaka.
It’s time to vote for August’s WTA Player of the Month!
Have a look at the nominees and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, September 16.
August 2016 WTA Player Of The Month Finalists
Angelique Kerber: Angelique Kerber had a summer to remember, starting at the height of the Emirates Airline US Open Series. From the semifinals of the Rogers Cup, Kerber went to Rio for the Olympic tennis event, where she came away with a silver medal. Playing for World No.1 at the Western & Southern Open, she made it all the way to the final and went one better at the US Open to claim her second Grand Slam. The victory made her the first German woman to top the WTA rankings since Steffi Graf and the first lefty since Monica Seles. Oh, and she qualified for what will be her fourth appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Monica Puig: Puig became the first Puerto Rican athlete to win a gold medal when she shocked Kerber in the final of the Olympic tennis event. Her impressive run in Rio saw her upset the likes of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Garbiñe Muguruza, Laura Siegemund, and Petra Kvitova before winning an epic final over the soon-to-be World No.1.
Karolina Pliskova: Pliskova broke through in a big way this summer, halting Kerber’s quest to become No.1 in the final of the Western & Southern Open to win the biggest title of her young career. At the US Open, she became the fourth woman ever – and the first since 2009 – to beat both Venus Williams and Serena Williams in the same major tournament to reach her first Grand Slam final.
2016 Winners
January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
April: Angelique Kerber
May: Garbiñe Muguruza
June: Serena Williams
July: Simona Halep
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
August was defined by three breakthrough players who brought some impressive performances on and off the court. Which one soared the highest?
Have a look at the nominees for August Breakthrough Performance of the Month and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, September 16.
August 2016 WTA Breakthrough Performance of the Month Finalists:
Karolina Pliskova: After losing in the first or second round in 14 of her first 17 major tournaments, Pliskova broke through in a big way at the US Open. In her first Grand Slam second week, she saved a match point to defeat No.6 seed Venus Williams in a final set tie-break, and backed up that win by becoming the fourth woman to beat both Venus and top seed Serena Williams at the same major tournament. The win took her into her first Grand Slam final, where she fell in three dramatic sets to Angelique Kerber.
Anastasija Sevastova: The Latvian is playing better than ever in her second career. Coming back from an 18-month retirement at the start of 2015, Sevastova stunned No.3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium and knocked out Johanna Konta to reach the quarterfinals for her best Grand Slam finish.
Ana Konjuh: Three years after winning the girl’s singles title at the US Open, 18-year-old Ana Konjuh was the young starlet of the 2016 tournament. Upsetting No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, Konjuh avenged a heartbreaking loss at Wimbledon – where she injured her ankle after having three match points – and enjoyed her best-ever Grand Slam result, reaching the last eight.
2016 Winners:
January: Zhang Shuai
February: Jelena Ostapenko
March: Nicole Gibbs
April: Cagla Buyukakcay
May: Kiki Bertens
June: Elena Vesnina
July: Kristina Kucova
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
NEW YORK, NY, USA – Closing the book on the US Open with a look back on the stories that dominated the fortnight.
1. Angelique Kerber takes control.
Let’s be honest: The World No.1 wasn’t always considered a pressure player, and that’s putting it mildly. In 2015, which was a fantastic season for Kerber, she was 15-12 in three-set matches. Most notably, she was on the losing end of the biggest ones. There was the 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 loss to Victoria Azarenka in the third round of the US Open, which many considered to be the best match of the year. A few weeks before that she lost, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to Simona Halep at the Rogers Cup. There were two tough three-set losses to Garbiñe Muguruza at the French Open and Wimbledon as well.
Kerber admits now that those losses were painful reminders when push came to shove, she was getting shoved. So she put her foot down and she decided to push back. Step in, be aggressive, don’t wait for your opponent to give you the match. Play to win. Back yourself. Take control. This season? She’s won 15 of the 20 three-set matches she’s played. After learning from the losses, she also learned from the wins, such as her three-set triumph against Serena Williams in Australia.
That transformation was on full display against Karolina Pliskova in the US Open final. Playing her solid counter-punching gamestyle, she cruised for a set and a half. Then the nerves came as Pliskova’s level elevated, and she played a nervy service game to get broken and lost the second. Still reeling, she fell behind an early break at 1-3 in the decider. Then she said, “Enough.”
Three games from losing out on a chance to consolidate her No.1 ranking with a second major title, Kerber started taking her swings. No single shot has defined her 2016 season like the impossible forehand down the line winner she nailed at 3-3, 30-all in that third set. She was six feet behind the baseline, running deep into her forehand corner outside the tramlines. 10 out of 10 times every instinct in your body would tell you to pull it back cross-court, keep yourself in the point, and force your opponent to hit another ball.
Angelique Kerber? She’s a little different.
“When I was going down the line I knew, Okay, now I have to risk a little bit, because this is the only chance I can get,” Kerber said afterwards. “When I won the point I knew, ‘Okay, I have the feeling. Now just to go for it and [not] making the mistakes I make like a lot of times before.’ I was not thinking too much that this is a final. I was just trying to take the challenge, third set, it’s 3-All, and just go for it.”
“Going for it,” is a common refrain from Kerber these days. Even on a chance that small, on a stage that big, she backed herself and went all in. As the ball floated onto the baseline, Kerber let out the biggest full-body double-fistpump roar I’ve ever seen from her. She knew it before anyone else in the stadium did.
The pressure was gone. The match was over. The title was hers.
2. Karolina Pliskova is a world beater.
Overshadowed for obvious reasons after a top notch final was the fact that Pliskova backed up her phenomenal run to the Western & Southern Open title with yet another two weeks of unflinching tennis. In the last four weeks she beat the three reigning major champions, Serena Williams, Kerber (in Cincinnati), and Garbiñe Muguruza, as well as Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova. She also proved she was clutch.
With 23,000 fans roaring against her, she faced down match point against Venus and went on to win, and then ousted Serena in straight sets. She ran out of gas at the end of the third set in the final, but up until that aforementioned Kerber forehand, she had proven herself not only a worth contender but a worthy champion. Playing in the biggest match of her life, Pliskova brought her entire arsenal and played like a woman who had been there before.
But perhaps even more importantly, she played like a woman who will be there again.
3. Caroline Wozniacki isn’t done yet.
Ranked No.74 at the start of the tournament, the Dane was well below the radar. With injuries keeping her off the tour for stretches throughout the season, she had also become an afterthought. Had the tour moved on without the former No.1? Not so fast.
Wozniacki lost just one set to make her first Slam semifinal since her final run in New York in 2014, beating Taylor Townsend, Monica Niculescu, and then Kuznetsova and Madison Keys back-to-back before rolling past a hobbled Anastasija Sevastova. She’s now back in the Top 30 and has a lot to build on during the fall season in Asia, where she believes she’ll be fresher physically and mentally than most of the field. If she’s healthy we could see her back in the Top 20 before the end of the year. That would set her up for a charge in 2017.
4. The gap continues to close between Serena and the field.
The ranking may change, but Serena is still, for now, the standard-bearer in the locker room. When she plays her best, as she did at Wimbledon, she remains unbeatable. But New York confirmed what has been the sense all season, that Serena’s B-level game, which would win her bushels of matches in the past, is more vulnerable than it used to be.
Simona Halep put forth her best single performance of the season to take Serena to three sets, facing down 12 break points in the second set. Less than 24 hours later, Serena was back on court to face Pliskova in the semifinals and she lacked the sharpness that was on display in the first week. Serena dismissed any concerns of fatigue but acknowledged that she had been dealing with a knee injury since the second round. That was enough margin for Pliskova to pull off the upset.
5. Experience matters.
I was struck by a very interesting take on the concept of experience from 18-year-old Naomi Osaka. The teen had just blown a 5-1 lead in the third set to lose to Madison Keys in the third round, a loss that saw her nerves laid bare as the New York crowd grew louder and louder with every Keys comeback. Osaka was asked whether her lack of experience – this is her first full year on tour – lost her the match.
“Getting experience is good, but I feel like if you’re a really good player it wouldn’t really matter if the place is new or if you’re traveling or whatever. Like, experience is good and whatever, right? But like not having experience, if you’re good enough, it shouldn’t really matter. Okay?”
Osaka has a point. If you’re good enough, you’re good enough. Watching the final unfold between Kerber and Pliskova, I thought back to Osaka’s point. Here’s Pliskova, who had never been past the third round of a Slam, playing like a veteran in her first Slam final, just 48 hours after doing the same to beat Serena. Maybe experience really is overrated.
Then Pliskova unraveled, very quickly, after losing the 3-1 lead, while Kerber soared, playing of course in her third major final of the year. Put me back in the experience camp.
6. You do you, Anastsija Sevastova.
The Latvian was a revelation in New York, not just because of her upset wins – she beat No.3 Garbiñe Muguruza and No.13 Johanna Konta – but also because of her game.
The 26-year-old has beautiful stroke production and a keen mind for the chessboard on the tennis court. She also wears her emotions on her sleeve, for better and worse. She feels like a throwback player in a way and her sarcastic, plain-spoken, honest presence in the interview room was both refreshing and entertaining.
Now up to No.32 in the rankings, I can’t wait to see how her game continues to match up.
7. Madison Keys takes two steps forward, one step back.
Too often in the past we would see Keys get behind in the scoreline and disappear. That has been less of a problem in her fantastic 2016 season.
Keys was “The Cardiac Kid” in the first week of the tournament, coming back from being two points away from the loss to beat Alison Riske in the first round – that match was the latest finish of a women’s match ever at the US Open – and then coming back from 1-5 down in the third to beat Osaka in the third round. The 21-year-old American showed grit and fire in willing herself to those wins, which has been a big improvement for her on the whole in 2016.
Then came her Round of 16 showdown with Wozniacki, which ended in error-strewn 6-3, 6-4 loss. Keys said the nerves were her undoing in that match and she panicked early and often when Wozniacki got a lead.
“The first week, even the first round, it’s much easier to say, I’m focusing on this round and not worrying about the next round,” Keys said. “Once you’re in the second week it seems a little bit closer, and I feel like sometimes I definitely get ahead of myself and I start thinking how much I want it.
“Sometimes I can get away from focusing on just point by point. Then that’s kind of when the nerves set in.”
Keys has been working with a sports psychologist and the improvements have been evident. She’s one of just four women to make the fourth round or better at every major this season (Serena, Kerber, and Radwanska have also done it). But the manner in which she lost to Wozniacki will sting.
8. Simona Halep is back to her best.
Ah, the cruelty of draws. Halep is in the form of her life right now on court but she fails to match her semifinal result from 2015, losing in the quarterfinals to Serena in three sets. For a player who has been prone to losses to lower-ranked players, note that since the French Open she has lost just three times, with all the losses coming to either Kerber (Wimbledon, Cincinnati) or Serena (US Open).
The improvements in her game, both in her movement and eye to be more aggressive was apparent in New York. Her mental game was also strong. She was able to pull herself out of her penchant for an emotional tailspin, and get back on track quickly. These are all very positive signs, and despite leaving New York in the quartefinals, Halep should be very pleased with the progress she’s made over the summer.
She currently sits at No.3 in the Road to Singapore.
9. Chemistry is everything for Lucie Safarova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
True friends both on and off the court, Safarova and Mattek-Sands capped off an emotional few weeks to win their third Slam title and move within one Wimbledon title of capturing the Career Grand Slam as a team. The two rallied from a set down to beat top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in Sunday’s final.
“We complement each other so well,” Safarova said. “Our games just fit. We have done so well in all the tournaments, and now this year has been tough year for us because I have been out for half a year with my sickness and missed Australia. Then Bethanie broke her finger just before French Open. But we both stuck together and believed that once we are again strong, healthy, and feeling that we can do this, and we did, so it’s amazing.”
10. Team France rebounds.
Mladenovic and Garcia may not have walked away with the title, but the top seeds at the US Open should be very happy with their tournament given the disappointment of the summer. The team was a heavy medal favorite at the Olympics and lost early. Heading into the US Open they were on a three-match losing streak. But they pulled it together to score two good wins over Sania Mirza/Barbora Strycova and Martina Hingis/CoCo Vandeweghe to make their second Slam final of the year.
Emptying out the notebook:
– Best performance: Ana Konjuh vs. Agnieszka Radwanska, Round of 16. The 18-year-old could not have played a more perfect match to beat Radwanska, 6-4, 6-4. The No.4 did not play poorly. Konjuh just had all the answers and her ability to work the angles and feather drop shots kept Radwanska off balance all night. No performance had me constantly in a slack-jawed state.
– Best match: Karolina Pliskova vs. Venus Williams, Round of 16. The final between Kerber and Pliskova should probably take the cake, given what was on the line and the fact that it was of a higher quality from first point to last. The quarterfinal between Halep and Serena was also absurdly good. But Pliskova vs. Williams is my pick simply because of the dramatic nature of the match. Pliskova saved match point, Venus saved three match points, and it all came down to a third-set tie-break, which Pliskova broke open with an absurd backhand stab pick-up volley. Pliskova went on to win, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(3).
– Biggest upset: Karolina Pliskova vs. Serena Williams, semifinals. Pliskova had every reason to blink against Serena. She barely wavered and Serena eventually buckled in the tie-break, double-faulting twice including on match point. Pliskova won 6-2, 7-6(5).
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
Serena Williams’ Signature Statement Collection hit the runway at New York Fashion Week, and Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki were in the front row to take it all in.
The 2016 Grand Slam season is in the books, but there is still plenty of tennis before the WTA’s grand finale at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Top tier tournaments in Tokyo, Wuhan, and Beijing will help determine the remaining spots for Singapore. Who has already qualified and who has the edge heading into the Asian Swing?
“With only 40 days to go until the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, the Road to Singapore is really heating up now with the best players putting in all their final efforts to secure a prized spot among the greatest eight,” said Melissa Pine, Vice-President of WTA Asia-Pacific and Tournament Director of the WTA Finals. “Women’s tennis is truly exciting at the moment and I am sure that this year’s WTA Finals will feature some of the most thrilling action on court. It is definitely going to be a great time for all the fans!”
KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Tour Championships
Prize Money: $7,000,000
Draw Size: 8 main draw singles (round robin)/8 main draw doubles (knockout)
Main Draw Ceremony: Friday, October 21
First Day of Main Draw: Sunday, October 23, 5pm
Singles Final: Sunday, October 30, NB 7.30pm
Doubles Final: Sunday, October 30, 4pm
MUST FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@WTAFinalsSG – The official tournament Twitter for the WTA Finals
Get involved in conversations with the official hashtags, #WTAFinals and #WTA.
OPENING DAY ACTION:
This year, fans can look forward to the new Family Day At The Tennis festivities which will complement the scintillating action on Center Court on opening day. Session 1 ticket-holders will be given a Family Day At The Tennis Passport which they can use to earn themselves incentives and prizes such as front-row tickets, fast-track access to special activities, and a meet and greet with WTA legends, while attempting various activities and challenges at the all-new Fan Village.
QUALIFICATION UPDATE:
– Top 2 on the WTA rankings, Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber became the first two women to qualify for Singapore; leading the Road to Singapore leaderboard for most of 2016, Serena and Kerber contested two of the three Grand Slam finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon championships. The two will be making their 13th and fourth WTA Finals appearances respectively; Serena has won the title five times.
– By winning her second Grand Slam title at the US Open, Kerber moves up to No.1 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard.
– Three doubles teams have already qualified. Australian Open champions Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza were the first women to qualify for Singapore, followed by French Open champions Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic. Olympic Gold medalists Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina became the third team to qualify after reaching the semifinals of the US Open.
– Hingis and Mirza are defending champions and plan to play Singapore despite splitting after the Rogers Cup, while Garcia and Mladenovic will be making their first apperance as a team after debuting in 2015 with different partners. By reaching the US Open final, the French will take over the No.1 ranking on the Road to Singapore leaderboard.
MAKAROVA AND VESNINA QUALIFY FOR SINGAPORE:
– Makarova and Vesnina were forced to withdraw from the WTA Finals last year, but have qualified twice before, reaching the finals in 2013. The Russians rode a 13-match winning streak into the US Open semifinals with a title at the Rogers Cup before Rio. Learn more about Makarova and Vesnina’s qualification story here.
SINGAPORE IN SIGHT FOR BUCIE?
– Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova were the second team to qualify for Singapore last year, but have played just six events in 2016 due to Safarova’s struggles with illness and injury. Still, the captured their their major title as a pair at the US Open, moving up to No.7 on the RTS leaderboard.
LOOKING AHEAD: THE ASIAN SWING
Six spots in singles and five spots in doubles will be decided during the WTA tour’s final stretch of the 2016 season. The first major tournament of the Asian Swing is the Premier-level Toray Pan Pacific Open, won by defending WTA Finals champion Agnieszka Radwanska last year. From there, the tour heads to China for back-to-back weeks at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open (won by Venus Williams) and the Premier Mandatory China Open (won by French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza).
Here is the current RTS leaderboard in singles and doubles; who will qualify next?
Over the past month Karolina Pliskova has played a central role in one of the summer’s most fascinating storylines: the battle for No.1.
As she had in Cincinnati, Pliskova’s actions proved decisive at the US Open, a stunning upset of six-time champion Serena Williams confirming that Angelique Kerber would reach top spot for the first time.
Amidst all this, it should not be forgotten that Pliskova is also on the rise, playing the best tennis of her career. And she has the ranking to show for it.
While defeat in the final to Kerber denied the willowy Czech a Top 5 debut, it could not prevent her rising to a career-high No.6 in the rankings. And with several of those above her in the rankings having significant points to defend between now and the end of the season, a productive stay in Asia could well see Pliskova rise further.
Pliskova, though, was not the only one eagerly awaiting the release of the new rankings…
Carla Suárez Navarro (+4, No.12 to No.8): After cruising to the last 16, Suárez Navarro produced an unusually subdued showing in defeat against Simona Halep at Flushing Meadows, a setback that will be comforted somewhat by her return to the Top 10.
Caroline Garcia (+11, No.33 to No.24): For the second time in three majors, Garcia’s challenge was ended by the wiles of Agnieszka Radwanska, however, hard-fought wins in her first two matches were enough to reach a career-high No.24.
Timea Babos (+8, No.34 to No.26): Also performing well in New York was Babos, whose first third-round appearance at an event of this stature was rewarded with a career-high ranking.
Caroline Wozniacki (+25, No.74 to No.29): After a campaign hampered by injury, Wozniacki provided a timely reminder of her considerable talents, counterpunching masterclasses against Svetlana Kuznetsova and Madison Keys taking her back to the Flushing Meadows semifinals and the Top 30.
Anastasija Sevastova (+16, No.48 to No.32): Sevastova made a lot of friends in New York with her fearless performances on the court and candid words in the press room. Victories over Garbiñe Muguruza and Johanna Konta caught the eye as she reached a maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal
Ana Konjuh (+40, No.92 to No.52): Three years after lifting the junior US Open trophy, Konjuh made waves in the senior event, upsetting Radwanska to reach the quarterfinals. The result catapulted her back up the rankings and within touching distance of a Top 50 debut.
Naomi Osaka (+12, No.81 to No.69): Tempering the disappointment of a painful third-round exit to Madison Keys at Flushing Meadows was a career-high ranking as Osaka continues to close in on the Top 50.
Duan Ying-Ying (+11, No.103 to No.92): Although Duan’s homecoming at the WTA125K in Dalian ended earlier than expected, a run through qualifying to the second round in New York was enough to bring a Top 100 debut.
While in doubles…
The failure of Martina Hingis, one half of last year’s US Open winning team, to reach the final alongside new partner CoCo Vandeweghe ensured the other half, Sania Mirza, hung onto the doubles No.1 ranking. The US Open fortnight were her 71st and 72nd week on top – only Gigi Fernandez (80 weeks), Paola Suarez (87), Sara Errani (87), Roberta Vinci (110), Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario (111), Natasha Zvereva (124), Lisa Raymond (137), Cara Black (163), Liezel Huber (199) and Martina Navratilova (237) have been World No.1 for longer.
A little lower down the pecking order, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova victory in New York saw them rise to No.6 and No.16, respectively.
QUÉBEC CITY, Canada – No.8 seed Samantha Crawford survived a spirited challenge from Belgium’s Ysaline Bonaventure, edging through to advance 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-4 in the opening round of the Coupe Banque Nationale.
“I don’t know how many match points I had in that second set, but I know I had a few,” Crawford said after the match. “After losing the second set, I just wanted to not think about that. I was just trying to stay calm and stay in the present.”
After narrowly escaping with a tight first set – Crawford and Bonaventure traded breaks and wrestled with the momentum in the tiebreak – the American found herself holding match points after a couple of loose serves from Bonaventure. The Belgian fought her off twice to hold serve and send the match to another tiebreaker, where this time Bonaventure came out on top to even the scoreline. Some strong serving in the third set gave Crawford the edge, and the American took her third match point to advance to the second round.
Earlier this year, Crawford turned heads when she made it through qualifying at the Brisbane International to reach the semifinals, upsetting Belinda Bencic and Andrea Petkovic along the way. But it was in Québec City that the American announced her presence to the WTA, reaching the quarterfinals of the event last year after making it out of the qualifying rounds.
Also in action in Québec City, Catherine Bellis shined in her first match at the Coupe Banque Nationale, notching a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Amandine Hesse.
“We never played each other before, so I think it took a while for both of us to get used to each other’s game, and I just stayed more consistent.”
Aside from a tough opponent, Bellis also had to contend with the surface: being an indoor tournament staged on carpet, Québec is home to some of the fastest hardcourts anywhere on the tour.
“I had never played on this surface before,” Bellis said. “I think maybe a long time ago, but I liked it. I think it’s different, but I liked it a lot.”
More to come…