Halep Leads Stacked Schedule In Cincy
WTA Insider | On the latest WTA Insider Live Blog, all of the top seeds are on the schedule to take Cincinnati by storm after a rainy Tuesday at the Western & Southern Open.
WTA Insider | On the latest WTA Insider Live Blog, all of the top seeds are on the schedule to take Cincinnati by storm after a rainy Tuesday at the Western & Southern Open.
An interview with Barbora Strycova after her win in the first round of the Western & Southern Open.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Before heading off to Puerto Rico next week for her big Olympic welcome, Monica Puig made a stopover in her hometown of Miami for a quick cuddle with her new dog Rio and the first leg of her media whirlwind.
While in town the gold medalist, who made history for her country by becoming the first Puerto Rican athlete ever to win a gold medal hit Telemundo’s Miami studios for her first televised interview since her big win in Rio.
Telemundo time!!!! ☀️? pic.twitter.com/N6yf54AWBQ
— Monica Puig (@MonicaAce93) August 17, 2016
“I’m still super emotional,” Puig told the morning talk show Un Nuevo Día. “I don’t even know how to talk about it because I still feel like I’m living a dream.”
“It’s been a long year with a lot of sacrifices, but everything’s worked out well for me so I can’t complain.”
Puig also shared the meaning of her social media rallying cry, the hashtag #PicaPower. The tag comes from the saying “picar piedras,” meaning “to break rocks” and is Spanish slang for working long and hard at small tasks for small rewards.
“You’ve got to break a lot of rocks to accomplish what you want,” she said.
? Ya está en casita @MonicaAce93 #PuertoRico ??primera medalla de oro olímpica #Rio2016 #TelemundoRio ??? pic.twitter.com/FYiqp8PjU1
— Un Nuevo Día (@UnNuevoDia) August 17, 2016
Puig was joined on the show by Grammy-winning merengue singer Elvis Crespo, who surprised her by dedicating a rendition of the iconic song “Qué Bonita Bandera” to the island’s new national hero.
The singer even performed an ode to her Olympic feat to a merengue version of “La Borinqueña,” Puerto Rico’s official anthem, which was heard at the Olympics for the first time ever last week.
¡Emoción total! Mónica Puig, acompañada de su mami y Elvis Crespo. Esta mañana en @UnNuevoDia #HolaUSA #PicaPower pic.twitter.com/0vhXxCvnvF
— HOLA! USA (@USAHOLA) August 17, 2016
An interview with Karolina Pliskova after her win in the second round of the Western & Southern Open.
PHOENIX, AZ, USA – Mixed doubles gold medalist Bethanie Mattek-Sands received a hero’s welcome when she touched down in her hometown of Phoenix. Last week she took home the gold along with partner Jack Sock after beating out Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram in an all-American final, 6-7(3), 6-1, 10-7 at the Olympic tennis event in Rio.
The American was received by family and friends – including her husband, Justin Sands – at the airport. Local news crews were on hand to capture the welcome party as Mattek-Sands showed off the prized hardware.
Thanks to Nonstop Tennis NBC NBC12 for surprising me Skyharbor International Airport (PHX) today. I am so… https://t.co/Xm8pt4KxAw
— Bethanie MattekSands (@BMATTEK) August 17, 2016
“Winning that match point — what a feeling,” Mattek-Sands told Phoenix’s 12 News. “It’s really not comparable to a feeling I’ve ever experienced.”
“You’re just up there thinking about everything you did that got you to that point, and I get emotional now,” she said. “I want to do it again. I want to be a part of Tokyo 2020.”
The welcome party didn’t stop at the airport, though, as Mattek-Sands is set to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Arizona Diamondbacks vs New York Mets baseball game at Chase Field later today.
And now gold medalist Bethanie Mattek-Sands is throwing out the first pitch at the #Dbacks game tomorrow!
— 12 News (@12News) August 16, 2016
An interview with Monica Puig after winning the gold medal at the Olympic tennis event in Rio.
CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Simona Halep will put her 10-match winning streak on the line at the Western & Southern Open on Wednesday. Chris Oddo previews a jam-packed schedule for wtatennis.com.
Wednesday, First and Second Round
Center Court
[3] Simona Halep (ROU #4) vs. Annika Beck (GER #33)
Head-to-head: Halep leads, 3-1
Key Stat: Halep has won her last 10 matches, claiming titles in Bucharest and Montréal.
Can last year’s Western & Southern Open runner-up take it a step further in 2016? That’s the question Simona Halep hopes to answer with a resounding yes this week in Cincinnati, and the Romanian will open her bid for the title with a second-round tilt with Germany’s Annika Beck on Wednesday. Halep will be well-rested after passing on the Olympics due to the threat of Zika virus. It was a difficult decision for the Romanian but one that she hopes will help spur her to great heights this summer. “I was very disappointed that I had to decide not to go there, but it was much better for my health,” Halep said on Monday when she spoke with the media at All-Access Hour. Out of action since the Montréal final more than two weeks ago, Halep will have to get up to speed quickly when she faces the 22-year-old Beck. The German won two qualifying matches to get into the main draw and impressively took down Yulia Putintseva in first-round action on Tuesday.
Pick: Halep in three
Grandstand
[10] Johanna Konta (GBR #13) vs. [Q] Donna Vekic (CRO #121)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Vekic ended a nine-match losing streak at WTA events on Monday when she defeated Ana Ivanovic.
Great Britain’s Johanna Konta will continue her pursuit of a Top 10 ranking when she makes her Cincinnati debut on Wednesday against 20-year-old Donna Vekic of Croatia. Konta has been in fine form this summer, winning 10 of 12 on the hard courts and claiming her first career title at Stanford last month. The British No.1 was one match from becoming the first woman from her country to reach the Top 10 in over 30 years in Montréal but fell to Kristina Kucova in the quarterfinals. On Wednesday Konta will face qualifier Donna Vekic for the first time. The former World No.62 has struggled mightily this season, but showed signs of life when she won her first WTA-level match in six months on Monday, stunning Ana Ivanovic in the first round. Will lightning strike twice for the talented Vekic, or will it be the cool, composed Konta who claims her first career victory in the Queen City?
Pick: Konta in two
Court 6
[13] Belinda Bencic (SUI #27) vs. [Q] Timea Babos (HUN #41)
Head-to-head: Bencic leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Babos is playing just two spots off her career-high ranking this week.
Injuries have marred what promised to be an incredible year for 19-year-old Belinda Bencic, as she was forced to miss several months due to a back problem and then had to play injured during the grass-court season before finally pulling the plug at Wimbledon with a wrist injury. But Bencic hopes to put her frailties behind her as she returns to action in Cincinnati looking to build some momentum ahead of the US Open. It won’t be easy on Wednesday as the Swiss will have to face one of the WTA’s most improved players in Hungary’s Timea Babos. The 23-year-old is closing in on the 30-win mark this season and reached the Florianopolis final two weeks ago before falling to Irina-Camelia Begu. Though she dropped her only previous meeting with Bencic in straight sets at Australia this year, Babos will benefit from the fact that she’s already logged three matches here in Cincinnati. She won two qualifying matches before easing past American Louisa Chirico in straight sets on Tuesday.
Pick: Bencic in three
Around the grounds…
Several unfinished matches from a rain-plagued Tuesday at the Lindner Family Tennis Center will be played today. Fourth-seeded Garbiñe Muguruza will take on CoCo Vandeweghe, while seventeenth-seeded Elina Svitolina meets qualifier Daria Gavrilova. American qualifier Alison Riske notched her first main draw win at Cincinnati on Tuesday and will meet up with seventh-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova in second-round action today. The No.2 and No.5 seeds, Angelique Kerber and Agnieszka Radwanska, will also be in action on an extremely busy schedule.
Highlights from first-round action at the Western & Southern Open.
WTA Insider | On the first WTA Insider Live Blog from the Western & Southern Open, Angelique Kerber meets the press while Garbiñe Muguruza debuts under the lights.
Donna Vekic had Monday’s shot of the day at the Western & Southern Open.