LIVE: US Open Finals Day
WTA Insider | In the latest WTA Insider Live Blog, keep up with all the action as Angelique Kerber takes on Karolina Pliskova for the US Open title.
WTA Insider | In the latest WTA Insider Live Blog, keep up with all the action as Angelique Kerber takes on Karolina Pliskova for the US Open title.
NEW YORK, NY, USA – Andy Roddick has had a lot to say throughout the 2016 US Open.
The former ATP No.1 and 2017 International Tennis Hall Of Fame Nominee – alongside Kim Clijsters – partnered with Chase to launch the #MasterTheOpen series on Periscope, where he broadcasts his signature mix of incisive and humorous commentary live each day at the Open.
Weighing in on the upcoming women’s final between new World No.1 Angelique Kerber and Western & Southern Open champion Karolina Pliskova, the 2003 US Open champion had this to say:
Kerber vs. Pliskova women's finals analysis at the #USOpen pic.twitter.com/M4N1qRqwGh
— andyroddick (@andyroddick) September 9, 2016
Stay tuned for the Saturday’s final at 4pm EST / 9pm BST!
DALIAN, China – No.7 seed Misa Eguchi outlasted Grace Min in a two-hour and twenty minute marathon match to reach the final at the Dalian Women’s Tennis Open, where she’ll face the unseeded Kristyna Pliskova for a shot at the title.
Watch free live streaming from Dalian 125K all week right here!
After dropping the first set to the Japanese No.7 seed, Min – the author of yesterday’s big upset of top seed Qiang Wang – roared back in the second, edging past Eguchi in the tiebreaker to force a deciding set. After weathering a two-hour rain delay, the Japanese player righted the ship in the final set, powering past Min to book a spot in the final.
Her opponent in the Dalian Women’s Tennis Open final will be the 24-year-old Kristyna Pliskova. Pliskova, ranked No.122, will arrive into the match feeling quite rested as her opponent Han Xinyun was forced to retire just 36 minutes into the match, with Pliskova leading 4-1.
Eguchi leads the head to head against Pliskova, notching a straight sets win over the Czech in their only previous encounter back in 2014. But the pair haven’t played at the WTA-level since, and Eguchi will have to contend with Pliskova’s biggest weapon: her powerful, record-setting serve.
ブログ更新！
普通に書いたけど、よく考えたら1回戦プリちゃんだったんだよね。恐るべし大連 シングルス準決勝 https://t.co/0JQ4VPqDVp
— Misa Eguchi / 江口実沙 (@misa_eguchi) September 10, 2016
NEW YORK, NY, USA – History is on the line on Saturday night as Angelique Kerber looks to mark her coronation as World No.1 by defeating Karolina Pliskova in the final of the US Open.
Before the two face off on Arthur Ashe Stadium, here are 10 points to ponder…
(2) Angelique Kerber (GER #2) vs (10) Karolina Pliskova (CZE #11)
Head-To-Head: Kerber leads Pliskova, 4-3
1) We meet again.
Kerber and Pliskova are making a habit of locking horns at the business end of tournaments. In fact, their past three encounters have all come with the silverware on the line. The most recent of these came just three weeks ago in the Cincinnati, where Pliskova played some brutal tennis to break down Kerber’s defenses for the loss of only four games. This gained a modicum of revenge for a couple of painfully close losses the previous summer in Birmingham and Stanford.
2) Mixed record in finals.
For all Kerber’s success in recent years, she still has a mixed record in finals. Although the German has broken the final hoodoo she suffered earlier in her career – between June 2012 and August 2014 she lost eight of nine – her overall win-loss record stands at 9-14. Pliskova, too, has a history of near misses, winning only six of the 15 she has contested
3) Kerber was eight years old the last time a German appeared in the US Open final.
Kerber is bidding to become the first German woman to win the US Open since her idol Steffi Graf won the last of her five titles, in 1996. The last Czech to reach the final was Helena Sukova, in 1993. Her conqueror? Graf. Hana Mandlikova, in 1985, is to date the only Czech player to go all the way at Flushing Meadows.*
* Czech-born Martina Navratilova won in 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, but by that time was representing the United States
4) Breaking new ground.
In her 17 Grand Slam appearances prior to arriving in New York, Pliskova had never reached the second week. The last player to reach a major final having never previously been beyond the third round was Amélie Mauresmo at the 1999 Australian Open. Since 1988 Australian Open (when all majors switched to 128-draws) no player has won a Grand Slam on their first venture into the second week. The closest was Serena Williams, who reached the fourth round at Roland Garros in 1999 then won US Open later that same year.
5) Kerber is trying to win multiple majors.
Should Kerber prevail she will become the first player not named Serena to win multiple majors in a calendar year since Justine Henin did so in 2007.
6) On a roll.
Pliskova is currently on an 11-match winning streak. The only time in her career she has gone longer without tasting defeat came way back in 2011, when she won 12 on the spin on the ITF Circuit in the Far East.
This current run came within a point of ending against Venus Williams in the fourth round. Navratilova is the only woman in Open Era to win the US Open title having saved match point – in 1986 she saved three in her semifinal versus Graf.
7) Achieving the Serena-Venus double.
Pliskova is just the eighth woman to beat both Williams sisters at the same tournament, the fourth at a Grand Slam and third at the US Open. The two players to have done so at Flushing Meadows, Justine Henin (2007) and Kim Clijsters (2009) both went on to win the tournament.
8) Kerber not the only one on the rise.
Serena’s semifinal defeat ensured Kerber will become the 22nd player to reach No.1 in the rankings. Pliskova is also on the march too, guaranteeing herself a career-high ranking of No.6 by reaching the final (she would go to No.5 with the title).
Meanwhile, the results in the Big Apple have caused a slight reshuffle on the Road To Singapore leaderboard, with Pliskova leapfrogging Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska, Garbiñe Muguruza, Dominika Cibulkova and Carla Suárez Navarro and Madison Keys into third place; the top two, Kerber and Williams, have both already secured qualification for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
9) Kerber’s unblemished record.
Kerber has not dropped a set on her way to the final. The last player to win a major without losing a set was Serena at the 2014 US Open.
10) The exclusive leftie club.
Kerber is attempting to become just the third left-hander to win the title. The other three were Evelyn Sears (1907) Navratilova (1983, 1984, 1986, 1987) and Monica Seles (1991, 1992).
NEW YORK, NY, USA – It’s finals weekend at the US Open, as new World No.1 Angelique Kerber looks to solidify her spot atop the WTA rankings with a second Grand Slam title.
Standing in her way is No.10 seed Karolina Pliskova, who kept the German from hitting No.1 at the Western & Southern Open. Pliskova became the first Czech woman to reach a US Open final by becoming the fourth woman to ever beat both Williams sisters at a major tournament – the first since Kim Clijsters in 2009.
Hear from both finalists in their own words in the latest Daily Dispatch from the WTA Insider Podcast:
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Courtney Nguyen, Point: How did we get to here? That’s the question many have been asking in the press room here at the US Open, where Angelique Kerber is set to play her third Slam final of the season just two days before she will officially take over as the No.1 player in the world.
It all began suddenly, in January, when she played what many considered the best match of her career to stun Serena Williams and win her first Slam title at the Australian Open. But as is the case for Kerber, her build towards No.1 and Saturday’s final has been far quieter, more workmanlike and unassuming in its reliability.
Reliable. That’s what Kerber has become. In a year that has seen a swirl of inconsistency hit the women surrounding her in the rankings, Kerber has pulled her visor down. She has embraced her ambition. She’s taken control of her game and her career. And the payoff has been immediate.
“That was my goal as well, was really going for it, taking control of my career and my game,” Kerber told WTA Insider on Saturday. “Not just waiting for the shots, if somebody is missing or not, just taking things in my hands and going for it.”
On Saturday, Kerber will be seeking “revanche,” as she says, to turn the tables on a bad loss to Karolina Pliksova just three weeks ago in the final of the Western & Southern Open. It was a bad beat, as a sluggish Kerber had no answers for Pliskova’s power game, and the Czech controlled the match from start to finish to cruise to a 6-3, 6-1 win.
“I think this is a completely new match, a completely new situation. I was a little bit tired in Cincinnati after the Rio trip and everything that happened there. I’m really looking forward to play Karolina again and take the challenge.”
A new match it is. In Cincinnati, Kerber was playing to take the No.1 ranking away from Serena and she was coming off an emotionally and physically exhausting silver medal effort at the Olympic tennis event. This time Kerber has the No.1 ranking already secured, and she comes into the final having not lost a set all tournament.
Kerber and Pliskova spent less than 90 minutes on court in their semifinal but Pliskova’s effort against Serena took a far greater toll. She told WTA Insider that she struggled to get to bed on Friday night, still reeling over her big win, and she admitted that beating Serena meant more to her than making the US Open final.
It makes you wonder whether she can come down from that high to play her best tennis for one more match. Because it will indeed take her best tennis to beat the toughest out in women’s tennis.
“I’m feeling very good because I have a lot of confidence from my last tournaments. I reached finals [at the Olympics and Cincinnati] and semifinals in Montréal. To be here in my next final is great. That’s why I’m really trying to take the energy of the last weeks on court tomorrow and playing with a lot of emotions and going out there to win the match.”
Playing a Slam final has become, in very quick pace, standard fare for Kerber this year. She’s familiar with the rhythms and routines leading up to a major final and the nerves that are natural for the occasion. This will be a brand new experience for Pliskova, who had never even made it past the third round of a Slam before this tournament.
The big key for Kerber will be her serve. You expect Pliskova, the WTA ace leader, to hold with far more ease. Kerber will need to match her to put pressure on her service games. Against Serena, Pliskova gave up just one break point all match. If Pliskova can handle the nerves and bring her best, Kerber’s serve will be under constant pressure.
But once the rallies begin the edge goes to Kerber. She has moved wonderfully throughout the tournament, her Rio hangover clearly a thing of the past. She will look to pick her spots to be aggressive, using that lefty forehand down the line to expose Pliskova’s forehand corner and open up the court.
That decision-making in particular, her ability to step in and take control of rallies on her terms, has been the biggest tactical change in Kerber’s game over the last 12 months. She used to be a reliable wall on the baseline that could be hit through with patience. Now she’s more of an offensive threat.
“That was my goal during my pre-season, working through the aggressive play,” Kerber said. “I know that I can do this, I’m practicing it a lot. Just going and transferring it onto the match court, that was the challenge for me. But I think right now I get used to it, playing really aggressive but also being really good in the defensive and just try to move good and making the mix. I think this is what makes me now stronger than ever.”
Both in her game and her mindset, Kerber has, at 28 years old, finally taken control of her own destiny. If things get tight on Saturday, she’ll take her chances. And when it comes to making good on those chances, no player in 2016 has been more bankable Angelique Kerber.
David Kane, Counterpoint: Success at the Slams starts at the smaller tournaments; the momentum built there is essential for growing both confidence and experience. Karolina Pliskova has spent the last two years cutting her teeth in the shadows of the big stages, reaching five International finals in 2014, then five Premier finals in 2015 – including the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
But that next step remained elusive; 14 of her first 17 Grand Slam main draw campaigns ended in the first or second round, and all before the second week. For one who reached so many finals, Pliskova’s inability to channel that momentum into major victories was puzzling at best, worrying at worst. This was a woman whose consistency helped her capture the Emirates Airline US Open Series last summer, a player more than capable of making things happen on hardcourts.
All it took was a hot streak for the icy Pliskova to catch fire.
“I wasn’t feeling bad at other Grand Slams, any of them,” she said after breaking into the second week for the first time on Saturday. “But just somehow the game on the court wasn’t the way I wanted it to be. I was just a little bit tight, I wasn’t playing my tennis, wasn’t aggressive enough. If I’m not playing my game, I cannot beat those players like this. I cannot be the one who is running.”
It’s been quite a run all the same for the precise Czech powerhouse, who got on a roll after winning the Western & Southern Open, knocking out the year’s first two Grand Slam champions in Angelique Kerber and Garbiñe Muguruza en route, and keeping the former from hitting No.1 in the final.
“I took a lot from that week,” she said of her Cincinnati title, the biggest thus far in her career. “I’m really happy that I took it here with me in New York, and it’s paying off even here. I’m still continuing to do the same things as I did before. I was struggling a little bit with my game on the Grand Slams. I knew I can play big tennis and good matches, but I couldn’t put it in the Grand Slams. I felt little bit pressure on myself.
“So I’m happy that right now it’s all paid off and I finally found my game.”
This pressure-free Pliskova has been unbeatable through 11 matches, even as she found herself down match point to No.6 seed Venus Williams.
“Once I beat Venus here I knew I’m playing good tennis and I have a chance to beat anyone in the tournament. I was ready for anything.”
She was indeed ready for an even bigger moment on Thursday night, taking on World No.1 Serena Williams, Venus’ sister, for a spot in her first Grand Slam final.
“She’s World No.1, so it’s always tough to beat someone like this. She’s never giving up. Even if she’s losing, not playing her best, it’s always tough to beat girls like this.
“I was pretty calm today. Before the match I felt a little bit like pressure, nervous. But when I step on the court I didn’t feel anything. I just, you know, wanted to win, actually. Not just enjoy, but to win.”
It’s that attitude Pliskova will take into Saturday’s final against Kerber, not one of a young woman happy to have already earned a career-best result, but one of an athlete with the experience and confidence from three weeks of well-earned momentum, who knows she can climb higher.
“We played a lot of times. I lost to her; I won. So I will be ready for anything. That’s a final of a Grand Slam, so anything is possible. Of course, there will probably nerves from both sides. We both have a good chance to win.
“But I will just do anything to win the title here.”
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
DALIAN, China – World No.145 Grace Min fought back from a set down to defeat top seed Wang Qiang in Friday’s quarterfinals at the Dalian Women’s Open.
Watch live streaming from Dalian all week right here.
The latest upset in a week full of surprises saw Min battle some early nerves before coming through, 5-7, 6-2, 6-3, in two hours and 22 minutes.
Min has spent much of the season piling up the win on the ITF Circuit, and looked a little out of her depth early on, dropping serve to love in the first game. This deficit did not last for long and while she was unable to rescue the set, she dominated the next two to secure a semifinal meeting against Misa Eguchi.
Unlike Min, Eguchi kept her time on court to a minimum, swatting aside last year’s runner-up, Julia Glushko, 6-2, 6-0.
In the bottom half of the draw, Kristyna Pliskova overpowered Aleksandra Krunic, 6-2, 6-4, in under an hour, while Han Xinyun recovered from a disastrous start to defeat Wang Yafan, 0-6, 7-5, 6-4.
NEW YORK, NY, USA – A journey which began waiting around at the tournament supervisor’s office ended with Laura Siegemund and Mate Pavic hoisting aloft their first Grand Slam trophy on tennis’ grandest stage.
In front of an unashamedly partisan Arthur Ashe crowd, Siegemund and Pavic spoiled the party by upsetting No.7 seeds CoCo Vandeweghe and Rajeev Ram, 6-4, 6-4.
“I’m just stunned a little bit at this point. I’m very happy. I think we played a great match today, Siegemund said. “We did play a great tournament. All the other matches were, yeah, very solid also in the important situations, although we never played together.
“So it’s just amazing that even in the finals we could just play the same, you know, stay focused and stick to the system that was working the whole week. He was, as the British say, cool as a cucumber. He was cooler than me maybe at times. I was very glad about that.”
Despite both teams carving out several chances, the first set went on serve until 4-4, before a mistake at the net from Vandeweghe leading to the ultimately decisive break. The unseeded duo continued to exert the pressure in the second set breaking Vandeweghe to secure a milestone victory.
“In all the matches that we played, we broke the guy’s serve a lot of times,” Pavic said. “Like even today Rajeev was serving big and we broke his serve twice.
“We were putting the balls back, returning good, makes the them feel pressure and then it’s not easy to make the point. So I think that make a huge difference in all the matches that we played so far.”
They had never met before.
They didn't know who one another was.
But now Siegemund-Pavic are in Mixed Dubs Final. pic.twitter.com/Kw6W3yjXCp— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) September 9, 2016
More to follow…
WTA Insider | In the latest Daily Dispatch, Italian journalist Luca Baldissera joins once again to try and make sense of a remarkable evening under the lights.
On Thursday evening, Angelique Kerber and Karolina Pliskova produced some of the finest tennis of their respective careers to move within touching distance of US Open glory.
Around the same time they were adding the finishing touches to impressive victories over Flushing Meadows favorites Caroline Wozniacki and Serena Williams, one of the tournament’s most popular champions received her nomination to join the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
At the dawn of the millennium Kim Clijsters battled it out with Amélie Mauresmo, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin and the Williams sisters for domination of a golden era in women’s tennis.
After years of playing the role of bridesmaid, on September 10, 2005, Clijsters finally enjoyed her own big day, defeating Mary Pierce in the US Open final to lift her maiden Grand Slam title.
Despite being just 22 at the time, this victory had been a long time coming; Clijsters, and her entertaining brand of athletic, all-court tennis had been entertaining crowds since she slid onto the scene as bubbly teenager in the late 1990s.
The Belgian’s big breakthrough came a few years later, in 2001, where she reached the final in both Indian Wells and the French Open. Unfortunately for Clijsters, both occasions ended in runner-up speeches, a scenario that would become all too familiar over the coming years as she lost out in four further major finals.
Once she had rid this monkey from her back in 2005, though, there was no looking back. Clijsters won three further Slams – all of which came after the birth of her first child – and a whole host of other silverware to prove once and for all that nice girls can indeed finish first.
“I’m very honored to be on the ballot for International Tennis Hall of Fame induction,” Clijsters said. “The women who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame are great champions who I have always admired. It’s an honor to be considered to be part of that incredible group of athletes, and I’m grateful for this acknowledgement of my career.”
Tennis journalists and authors will cast their votes in the ballot over the coming months, culminating with an announcement early next year of the International Tennis Hall of Fame Class of 2017. The Class of 2017 Enshrinement Ceremony will be hosted on Saturday, July 22, 2017 during the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.