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Kvitova Claims Olympic Bronze Medal

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – A day after missing out on the final, No.11 seed Petra Kvitova found redemption at the Olympic tennis event to claim the bronze medal with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 win over Madison Keys.

Follow all the action from the medals matches at the Olympics on WTA Insider’s Live Blog.

Despite a painful loss against Monica Puig in the semifinals yesterday, Kvitova in her country’s colors always finds another gear and her inspired performance brought home her first Olympic medal and the Czech Republic’s third medal overall in the 2016 Games.

“I’m still a bit emotional, so if I cry, sorry,” Kvitova said afterwards. “It means almost everything, definitely. Having a medal from the Olympics is one of the best things that’s happened in my career definitely, along with the two Wimbledon titles and winning Fed Cups and WTA.

“It’s definitely one of the best days today. I hope I’m going to celebrate it. I’m very proud that I could bring it to the Czech Republic.”

The match between the two big hitters was ultimately decided by a handful of points where Kvitova proved to play a tidier game than her younger counterpart. She struck 12 winners and 38 unforced errors to Keys’ 24 and 49.

Keys and Kvitova traded blows throughout the tightly drawn opening set. Where Keys was aggressive on the return to bring up a break point at 2-2 and painting a backhand down the line right onto the line just out of reach, Kvitova replied in kind with a gutsy mid-rally drop shot to see away the American’s chance.

An injection of pace from Keys brought up break points for a chance at the opening set at 5-4, but she let two slip by as Kvitova’s clutch serving bailed her out of trouble. Kvitova leveled it up, aided by a pair of backhand unforced errors from Keys, and rallied to take the first set.

Keys’ frustration visibly mounted with every missed opportunity – in her last match she was 0 for ten in break point chances against Angelique Kerber, and on Saturday the stretch continued another six opportunities went unanswered across the first and second sets.

The American got another chance as Kvitova’s first serve numbers had dipped considerably – from 73% in the first set to 54% in the second – and Keys pounced on the opportunity to finally get her first break and create a 4-2 lead. She quickly it carved up to take the second set 6-2.

But the tortuous match had another turn left as Kvitova’s rock-solid net work brought up an immediate break in the opening game of the deciding set. The Czech dodged break points of her own and got another lead for 4-0.

A nervy final game from Kvitova – which included a double fault at deuce after being up 40-0 – extended the American’s stay in the match, but Kvitova shut the door on her fourth try to claim the singles bronze medal for the Czech Republic.

More to come…

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Olympic Medal Rounds Underway

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Can Angelique Kerber capture her first gold medal at the Olympic tennis event? Keep up with all the action right here at wtatennis.com!

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Insider Draw Analysis: Cincinnati

Insider Draw Analysis: Cincinnati

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Serena Williams must advance to the quarterfinals to secure the No.1 ranking.

With the top spot on the WTA rankings in play this week, World No.1 Serena took a late wildcard into the tournament. The scenarios are simple. If Serena makes the quarterfinal she will hold onto the No.1 ranking heading into the US Open. If she loses before the quarterfinal stage, No.2 Angelique Kerber can overtake her by winning the title.

A two-time defending champion here, Serena leads the top half and she could open her tournament against the woman how knocked her out of the Olympic tennis event last week: Elina Svitolina. Svitolina would have to get past Christina McHale in the first round to book a rematch with the 22-time Grand Slam champion. Serena could then play either Karolina Pliskova or Jelena Ostapenko, with Svetlana Kuznetsova or Timea Bacsinszky looming in the quarterfinals.

Click here to check out the full draw.

As for Kerber, anything less than the title means she will remain at No.2 heading into New York. She is into the Gold Medal match at the Olympics, which will be played on Saturday, but as a Top 16 seed she’ll have a bye into the second round. The question is how much will she have left in the tank?

Kerber will play either Kristina Mladenovic or a qualifier in the second round and could play either Sam Stosur or Barbora Strycova in the Round of 16.

Petra Kvitova

Rio Redux.

Serena and Kvitova will both have an opportunity to avenge their Olympic losses. For Serena that could come in her first match against Svitolina, while Kvitova could play Monica Puig in her first match of the tournament. Puig, who is also into the Gold Medal match against Kerber, opens her tournament against American wildcard Louisa Chirico.

Simona Halep gets back to work.

After skipping Rio, Halep spent the week training with coach Darren Cahill and famed fitness trainer Gil Reyes. The Rogers Cup champion will look to continue her winning ways in Cincinnati. With a significant number of points on the line over the next four weeks – Halep made the final here last year and the semifinals of the US Open – defending those points would set up a significant rankings push in Asia this fall.

Halep has won 23 of her last 26 matches dating back to her title run at the Mutua Madrid Open, and she’s currently riding a 10-match win streak. The No.3 seed here, she got the toughest draw of any of the top four seeds, landing in a quarter with No.5 seed Agnieszka Radwanska. She will open her tournament against either Yulia Putintseva or a qualifier and could then face Belinda Bencic, who is returning from injury, or Caroline Garcia.

Agnieszka Radwanska

Agnieszka Radwanska has work to do.

The No.5 has not made a semifinal since April (Porsche Tennis Grand Prix) and has struggled to put together a confidence boosting run over the last few months. It won’t be easy this week in Cincinnati, where she has never made it past the quarterfinals. She will play either Andrea Petkovic or Lucie Safarova in the second round, with Johanna Konta potentially looming in the third round. All that to get to a possible quarterfinal against Halep.

The qualifying draw is stacked.

The Cincinnati qualifying draw, which begins on Saturday, would be a strong International-level event in and of itself. The main draw cut-off was at No.41, meaning a host of top notch players will have to play their way into the main draw.

Eugenie Bouchard took a wildcard into qualifying, and she’s alongside a list of exciting players like Alizé Cornet, Daria Gavrilova, Misaki Doi, Sabine Lisicki, Camila Giorgi, Sorana Cirstea and more. It will be a tough weekend of qualifying matches and the complexion of the draw could change dramatically depending on who makes it through and where they end up being placed.

Follow the qualifying draw here.

Top seeds in the top half: Serena Williams, Garbiñe Muguruza, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Dominika Cibulkova.

Top seeds in the bottom half: Angelique Kerber, Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska, and Roberta Vinci.

Angelique Kerber

Projected quarterfinals: Serena Williams vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Garbiñe Muguruza vs. Dominika Cibulkova, Simona Halep vs. Agnieszka Radwanska, Angelique Kerber vs. Carla Suárez Navarro.

First round matches to watch: Andrea Petkovic vs. Lucie Safarova, Elina Svitolina vs. Christina McHale, Sara Errani vs. CoCo Vandeweghe, Louisa Chirico vs. Monica Puig.

Potential second round matches to watch: Serena Williams vs. Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova vs. Jelena Ostapenko, Garbiñe Muguruza vs. CoCo Vandeweghe, Petra Kvitova vs. Monica Puig, Johanna Konta vs. Ana Ivanovic, Belinda Bencic vs. Caroline Garcia, Simona Halep vs. Yulia Putintseva.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

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Serena Celebrates Instagram Milestone

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Serena Williams never misses a chances to show off her dance moves, and a major social media milestone is no exception. The World No.1 just crossed the four million followers mark on Instagram, and she debuted a move that she dubbed the “4 million follower dance.”

So how exactly does one react when reaching that many million followers?

Click right here to find out!

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Venus Sounds Off On Olympic Fashion

Venus Sounds Off On Olympic Fashion

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Venus Williams, a four-time Olympic gold medalist and designer, sat down with Racked ahead of the Olympic Games to discuss her design empire, which covers everything from fashion to interior design.

She’s been at the helm of EleVen by Venus since 2007, but she admitted that sometimes it’s still a struggle to be taken seriously as a designer – good thing her favorite pastime is proving doubters wrong.

“It’s interesting. Because people know your name, you can get pigeonholed into being perceived a certain way. And that’s OK,” she told Racked. “People are like, “She’s a great athlete, but does it translate to design?” And actually, it does! They find out about me and the great team we have and you can see the light bulb go off.”

Venus also maintained that she’s still involved in the day-to-day happenings of EleVen, even despite the constant travel required in competing at the highest levels of women’s tennis.

“I was in the office yesterday and we’re working on fall ’17 now, so we’ve started the process of understanding what our color story is, what our prints are,” she explained to Racked. “From there, we start to work with the sales team. What do people really like? What do we want to bring back, and what are the new pieces? We look at colors and prints and actual fabrics. Then it gets refined and refined and refined.

“I also take my sketchbooks on the road and I’m constantly sketching.”

You can see her finished product on the court as she competes for a shot at a medal in the mixed doubles semifinal at the Olympic tennis event in Rio.

But wish you could wear those red, white and blues yourself? The entire ensemble is available at Tennis Warehouse – it even includes Venus’ gold pendant and a certificate of authenticity.

Here it is in action on the four-time gold medalist herself:

Venus Williams

Venus Williams

Venus also designed a separate outfit for doubles:

Venus Williams

Venus Williams

Click here to visit Tennis Warehouse and check out more Olympic styles and tennis gear.

– All photos courtesy of Getty Images

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10 Things To Know: Kerber Vs Puig

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – History is on the line in Rio on Saturday as Angelique Keber and Monica Puig chase Olympic gold. But before the two face off on Centre Court, here are 10 points to ponder…

 (2) Angelique Kerber (GER #2) vs Monica Puig (PUR #34)
Head-To-Head: Kerber leads Puig, 2-0

1) Kerber holds the head-to-head bragging rights.
The players’ two encounters on tour could not have been more different. Perhaps crucially on a psychological level, though, both have gone the German’s way. The first saw Kerber come within two points of defeat against a very green Puig three years ago in Brisbane, eventually prevailing on a third set tie-break. The second, last summer in Toronto, was rather more one-sided, Kerber dropping just five games against the young Puerto Rican.  

2) On top of their game.
Both Kerber and Puig have enjoyed campaigns to remember. After a slight lull following January’s memorable Australian Open triumph, Kerber has enjoyed a productive summer, reaching the Wimbledon final and winning 15 of her past 17 matches. Puig, meanwhile, has been quietly impressive all year long, reaching the biggest final of her career, in Sydney, the Eastbourne semifinals and posting a career-best 46 match wins.

3) Kerber holds a decided edge in big-match experience.
For all her recent improvement, Puig has still only ever appeared in two finals. Kerber, meanwhile, is becoming an old hand at the business end of tennis’ flagship events, having appeared in two major finals and lifted six Premier titles.

4) History in the making.
Puig has a chance to write her name in the history books as the first athlete in any sport from Puerto Rico to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games. As it is, she is already guaranteed to go down as the island’s first female medalist.

5) Kerber was eight months old the last time a German won Olympic gold.
If Kerber wins, she will be the first German woman to win Olympic tennis gold title since Steffi Graf in 1988. Graf returned to the final four years later only to lose out to an inspired Jennifer Capriati in Barcelona.

6) Consistency the Kerber’s key to success.
Kerber has improved as she has progressed in Rio, something born out in her increasingly stingy unforced error count. After hitting 31 in her first-round win over Mariana Duque-Mariño, Kerber’s totals for her subsequent matches were 19, 14, 11 and just eight against Madison Keys in the semifinals.

7) Ready for another upset?
Puig had only registered one win over a member of the Top 10 before arriving in Rio. This came against No.5 Sara Errani at Wimbledon in 2013. She doubled this tally thanks to her magnificent third-round upset of Garbiñe Muguruza. Is she ready to make it three?

8) Olympic outsider.
Puig is the first unseeded singles finalist since tennis’ reintroduction to the Olympics in 1988. The lowest-ranked player to appear in the gold medal match up until now was then-No.17 Elena Dementieva in 2000.

9) Kerber’s unblemished record.
Kerber has not dropped a set on her way to the final. London 2012 gold medalist Serena Williams is the only player to win the competition since without dropping a set since the sport’s reintroduction to the Olympics.

10) The exclusive leftie club.
By defeating Keys, Kerber ensured she will become just the second left-hander to win an Olympic singles medal since tennis’ return. The other was 2000 bronze medalist Monica Seles.

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Hingis & Bacsinszky Going For Gold

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Timea Bacsinszky and Martina Hingis staged a stunning comeback on Friday night to defeat Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka and keep alive their dream of an Olympic gold medal.

Four years ago in London, Hlavackova and Hradecka won silver and they looked on course for a return to the final when took the first set and surged ahead in the second. However, their Swiss opponents hung doggedly onto their coattails, escaping from a dramatic second set to complete a 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-2 victory.

The turning point came with Hradecka serving at 5-4 in the second set. Having already saved one match point, Hingis fended off another with a ferocious volley that struck Hlavackova in the eye from point-blank range.

Despite a lengthy injury timeout, it was a blow from which Hlavackova and Hradecka were unable to recover. The Czechs lost the first two points on the resumption to drop serve and while they did manage to force a tie-break, it was one that never looked like going their way.

Bacsinszky and Hingis compounded this misery in the decider, rattling off four straight games to complete the comeback.

Heading into Rio, an Olympic medal was one of the few prizes missing from Hingis’ resume. Her hopes of winning one were dealt a double blow by the withdrawal or first Roger Federer and then Belinda Bencic. Bacsinszky, though, has deputized ably and on Saturday the first-time partnership will meet Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina for gold.

Makarova and Vesnina were quarterfinalists in London and have picked up a couple of Grand Slam titles since then. Against Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova they needed to draw on all this experience to overcome a slow start and edge through, 7-6(7), 6-4.

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Where To Watch: Cincinnati

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier 5
Prize Money: $2,804,000
Draw Size: 48 main draw (16 byes)/48 qualifying
Main Draw Ceremony: Friday, August 12, 5.30pm EDT
Qualifying Dates: Saturday, August 13 – Sunday, August 14 
First Day of Main Draw: Monday, August 15
Singles Final: Sunday, August 21, 2pm EDT
Doubles Final: TBC – Sunday, August 21, 12.15pm EDT on Grandstand

MUST FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@CinyTennis – official tournament handle
Get involved in conversations with the official hashtags, #CincyTennis and #WTA.

TOURNAMENT NOTES:
· Serena Williams bids to win a third straight Cincinnati title after accepting a late wildcard. She is the only player in the Open Era to win multiple times at the event.
· Since the tournament’s return to the tour in 2004, there have been 11 different winners of the tournament, although Serena is the only returning champion in the field this year. There are a couple of former runner-ups – Simona Halep (2015), Ana Ivanovic (2014) and Angelique Kerber (2012).
· The WTA’s current Top 5-ranked players are all in attendance: Serena, Kerber, Halep, Garbiñe Muguruza and Agnieszka Radwanska.
· Halep arrives on a 10-match winning streak, having won her past two tournaments, in Bucharest and Montréal.
· Lucie Safarova and Andrea Petkovic could both register their 400th career win by reaching the second round and quarterfinals, respectively.
· For the full draw click here.

WILDCARDS:
Serena Williams (USA), Christina McHale (USA), Louisa Chirico (SVK)

WITHDRAWALS:
Sloane Stephens (right foot), Jelena Jankovic (right shoulder)

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Kerber Conquers Keys To Reach Rio Final

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – No.2 seed Angelique Kerber is guranteed to win a medal at the Olympic tennis event; the Australian Open champion clinched her spot in the Gold Medal match with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Madison Keys on Friday in the semifinals.

The highest ranked woman to reach the final four in Rio, Kerber came up against an in-form rival in Madison Keys, who has taken her to three sets in two of their last three encounters – beating her to win the 2014 Aegon International in Eastbourne.

Hoping to become the first German woman to medal at the Olympic tennis event since idol Stefanie Graf, the World No.2 played contained tennis against her more aggressive opponent, hitting just two unforced errors in the first set alone to take the early initiative.

“It means a lot to be in the final right now,” she said after the match. “It wasn’t easy to be the next after Steffi to reach the final at the Olympics means a lot. It’s really special to be here today, and tomorrow in the finals.”

Keys became the first American to make her Top 10 debut since Serena Williams back in 1999 earlier this year, and wasn’t about to go down without a fight. Facing down the barrel of triple match point in the tenth game of the second set, Keys saved all three – a total of four by game’s end – to try and force a deciding set.

“She’s an unbelievably good player and she played really hard today. I was trying to move well, get the balls back and go for it when I had the chance. It wasn’t easy in the second set when I had four match points, but I managed to come back and focus again. It’s really special to be in the final now.”

Kerber saved two break points on her own serve to get back within striking distance of her first Olympic final – having fallen in the quarterfinals back in her London debut four years ago – and finally secured victory on her sixth match point. 

Standing between the German and a gold medal is Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig, another youngster in the midst of a career-best season. Puig became the first woman from her country to win a medal after upsetting No.11 seed Petra Kvitova in the other semifinal, and has knocked out quality opposition all week in Rio, including reigning French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza.

“She’s played very good this week,” Kerber said when asked about her next opponent. “I know it’ll be a tough final, but I’ll try to enjoy it, go out and play my best tennis and, of course, win the next match. But Monica plays good and I’m ready for that.”

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Did Puig Predict Medal Run in Rio?

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig is set to become Puerto Rico’s first women to win an Olympic medal as she advanced to the gold medal match with a three-set win over Petra Kvitova, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

As a result, Puig will become the first woman representing Puerto Rico to win an Olympic medal and has the chance to become the first athlete from Puerto Rico – man or woman – to win a gold medal.

#PicaPower, the world No.34’s rallying cry on social media, became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter following her victory.

Entering the gold medal match, Puig has won a career-best 36 main draw matches in 2016, more than she won in the previous two seasons.

But perhaps most impressive… did Puig forecast her success in Rio back on July 27 when she shared with her Twitter following that she introduced “Rio Puig” to the Twitter-verse?

While Puig will become the first woman representing Puerto Rico to win an Olympic medal, Gigi Fernandez, born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, won two gold medals in doubles for the United States playing alongside Mary Joe Fernandez in 1992 and 1996. Gigi was quick to join in the celebration.

No matter what happens in Saturday’s Gold Medal match, we know Puig will have one fan firmly in her corner:

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