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Olympic QFs: By The Numbers

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

How many minutes has Madison Keys spent on court? Who has hit the most aces? And in whose famous footsteps is Johanna Konta looking to follow?

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Insider: Hingis & Mirza Part Ways

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

The World No.1 team of Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza have split, according to multiple reports. Mirza and Hingis – self-dubbed “Santina” – dominated the doubles tour for over a year, having joined forces for the first time at the 2015 BNP Paribas Open. Together the pair won 13 titles over a 16-month span, including three consecutive majors at 2015 Wimbledon, the 2015 US Open, and 2016 Australian Open, as well as the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global last fall.

But ever since their 41-match winning streak was snapped in February at the Qatar Total Open by Elena Vesnina and Daria Kasatkina, the team never fully recovered. After their lightening start to 2016, winning their first four tournaments of the year, Hingis and Mirza have won just one title since. As defending champions they lost in the second round at both the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open this spring and lost back-to-back finals at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and Mutua Madrid Open to the No.2 team of Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic.

After winning their first title in nearly three months at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Hingis and Mirza took two surprising straight-set exits at the French Open and Wimbledon. In all, they failed to make it past the quarterfinals of their last four events.

So what does this mean for Hingis and Martina going forward?

Who will they play with now?

According to reports out of India, Hingis will pair with CoCo Vandeweghe and Mirza with Barbora Strycova. Mirza will link up with Strycova at next week’s Western & Southern Open before partnering with Bethanie Mattek-Sands at the Connecticut Open. The plan is to re-team with Strycova at the US Open.

What about the No.1 ranking?

The pairing was a milestone launcher for Mirza. She became the first Indian woman to hold the No.1 ranking after the pair won their third straight title last year at the Volvo Car Open and she won her first major doubles title at Wimbledon a few months later. The two became joint No.1s in January of this year and they will continue to hold the top spot through the US Open unless one of them either reaches the Cincinnati final or wins New Haven.

What does this mean for the WTA Finals in Singapore?

Hingis and Mirza were the first doubles team to qualify for this year’s WTA Finals. Despite their struggles over the last four months they still sit atop the Road to Singapore. Under WTA Rules, Hingis and Mirza can still play as a team in Singapore, but if one of them qualifies with another partner, that player may then choose which team she competes with for the WTA Finals. The player she chooses not to complete with will then be ineligible unless that player has also qualified as part of another team.

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Gavrilova's Excellent Olympic Adventure

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Daria Gavrilova played her first Olympic tennis event this week in Rio, and took fans along for the ride with the help of some lively commentary on Twitter.

Despite a bumpy start to her Olympic journey, Gavrilova took on the Rio experience with gusto, participating in the Opening Ceremonies alongside Team Australia and taking in as many sports as she could after playing World No.1 Serena Williams tough over two sets.

Check out some of the best tweets from the Aussie’s Olympic Summer Games right here on wtatennis.com:

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Olympics Wednesday: Magic Eight

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

And then there were eight! It’s quarterfinal time at the 2016 Olympic Games, and we’re breaking down the matchups at WTATennis.com, courtesy of contributor Chris Oddo.

Wednesday

Quarterfinals

Elina Svitolina (UKR #20) vs. [11] Petra Kvitova (CZE #14)
Head-to-head: Kvitova leads, 2-1
Key Stat: There has only been one unseeded medalist in women’s singles since tennis returned to the Olympics in 1988 (Alicia Molik, Bronze, 2004).

Chaos reigned supreme at the top of the draw on Tuesday in Rio, as Elina Svitolina completed the upset to end all upsets by knocking off four-time Olympic gold medalist Serena Williams in straight sets. It was a monumental victory for Svitolina, who admitted afterwards that she dared not dream of defeating Williams. “It’s one of my dreams to play against her, and to beat her – I don’t think I was even dreaming about that,” the elated 21-year-old said after the match. Now, for the challenge of recalibrating emotionally to face a menacing Petra Kvitova for a spot in the semifinals. Kvitova showed true Olympic spirit in gutting out a see-saw three-setter with Ekaterina Makarova on Tuesday, and the Fed Cup legend has always taken her game to another level when representing her country in the past. Will she continue to elevate her tennis and engineer a season-changing run to the medal round, or will the 21-year-old Ukrainian continue to prove to be a player of destiny this week in Rio?

Pick: Kvitova in three

[2] Angelique Kerber (GER #2) vs. [10] Johanna Konta (GBR #13)
Head-to-head: Kerber Leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Kerber and Laura Siegemund are bidding to become the first German women to medal at the Olympics since Steffi Graf in 1992.

Two of tennis’ most in-form and mentally tough players will square off in a high-stakes quarterfinal that marks their second meeting of 2016. Angelique Kerber eased past Johanna Konta in this year’s Australian Open semifinals, and that victory proved not only to be a springboard to a first major title, it also has provided a layer of belief that has further solidified Kerber’s presence at the top of the game. On Tuesday Kerber worked her way past Samantha Stosur in straight sets while Konta had to scratch and claw to end Svetlana Kuznetsova’s Olympics in a three-hour and seven minute battle. Konta is just two weeks removed from her first career title at Stanford and she’ll no doubt be eager to prove that she has the ability to match wits and strokes with a player of Kerber’s caliber. She wasn’t up to the task against the German in January – will she find a way past her on Wednesday?

Pick: Kerber in three

Monica Puig (PUR #34) vs. Laura Siegemund (GER #32)
Head-to-head: First Meeting
Key Stat: Puig and Siegemund were ranked 90 and 92 respectively at the start of the season.

My, how fortunes can change over the course of a season. Monica Puig and Laura Siegemund, two players who began the season barely inside the Top 100, will play for a spot in the medal round on Wednesday in Rio. As unlikely as it sounds, when one considers the amount of progress that Siegemund and Puig have made over the course of the last seven months, this quarterfinal is not all that improbable. The pair own a combined 9-9 record vs. the Top 20 this season, and both have gone deep into draws more consistently than ever. Puig notched the second biggest shock of Day 4 when she shellacked Spain’s Garbiñe Muguruza, 6-1, 6-1. Puig matched Muguruza’s winner count and committed half the errors in a tidy performance. “I consider it the biggest win of my career because it’s at the Olympics,” she said after the match. “Right now, I’m in the clouds. I can’t even believe it because truly it was incredible.” Will Puig be able to recover mentally to take on the feisty Siegemund with so much at stake? Or is it the 28-year-old German who will seize the day and a surprise trip to the medal round?

Pick: Siegemund in three

[7] Madison Keys (USA #9) vs. Daria Kasatkina (RUS #27)
Head-to-head: First Meeting
Key Stat: Keys has won back-to-back three setters in her last four events.

The two youngest players remaining in the draw will square off in a matchup that tennis fans will likely see—and enjoy—quite a bit over the next ten years. No. 7 seed Madison Keys has had her mettle tested early and often here in Rio, but each time she has been pushed, the 21-year-old power broker has pushed back, gutting out back-to-back three setters in her last two matches and showing poise and patience to go with her world-class attack. Speaking of poise, 19-year-old Daria Kasatkina has proven to be a quick study on the Olympic stage. The Russian methodically eased past Italy’s Sara Errani to reach the quarterfinals on Tuesday, proving once again that she’s every bit as good as her ranking, and perhaps even better. But how will Kasatkina handle the grooved ground game of Keys? Will she be able to keep the hard-hitting American off balance, or will she find herself in over her head against a blossoming American who is willing to lay everything on the line in the quest for an Olympic medal?

Pick: Keys in three

Around the Grounds:

The women’s doubles quarterfinals will also be held on Wednesday. Russia’s Daria Kasatkina will perform double duty alongside Svetlana Kuznetsova in a battle against No. 6 seeds Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic. Switzerland’s Martina Hingis and Timea Bacsinszky will look to upend the Chan sisters of Chinese Tapei in a battle of Top 5 seeds. See the complete doubles draw for matchup information here.

By the Numbers:

19 – The age of Russia’s Daria Kasatkina, who is the youngest player left in the draw.

34 – Ranking of Monica Puig, who is the lowest-ranked participant in the women’s singles quarterfinals.

2 – Germany is the only country to boast two women’s singles quarterfinalists.

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Svitolina Shocks Struggling Serena

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – No.15 seed Elina Svitolina ended the Rio run of 22-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, 6-4, 6-3, to reach the quarterfinals of the Olympic tennis event.

“The feeling is unreal, and I still can’t believe this match ended with a win for me,” she said after the match.

“I was trying to be focused because she’s a great player with great experience coming back in many amazing matches. In the end, it was just point by point.”

Working with coaching consultant Justine Henin, a former World No.1 and recent International Tennis Hall of Fame Inductee, Svitolina has shown steady signs of improvement in the last two seasons, reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal and peaking at No.14 in the world following a title run at the BMW Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur.

But Svitolina had taken just one set from Serena in their previous four meetings, and was by all accounts the underdog against the four-time Olympic gold medalist.

Navigating through tense opening exchanges, Svitolina recovered from losing her early break advantage to reclaim the initiative and serve out the opening set in 34 minutes.

The second set saw a struggling Serena, one who appeared to aggravate a right shoulder injury that forced her out of the Rogers Cup last week, roar back from a break down to level the contest at three games apiece, but it wasn’t enough on Tuesday night.

“In that moment, I was just trying to stay in the moment and focus on every point. She was struggling a bit, and I could see that if I pushed a little more, I could be on top. This was the key.”

Serena had given kudos to her opponent following her second round win, something which made the win all the sweeter for Svitolina, who grew up idolizing the World No.1.

“It’s amazing, and one of my dreams to play against her. I don’t think I ever dreamed of beating her. I think I’ll enjoy this moment so much, especially at the Olympics; I’ve always wanted to play here.”

Up next for the Ukrainian is No.11 seed Petra Kvitova, who is hoping to better her quarterfinal finish from the London Olympics in 2012. Kvitova won a titanic three-setter over Ekaterina Makarova earlier in the day.

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Puig Pummels Muguruza At Olympics

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – No.3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza was sent crashing out of the Olympic tennis event in Rio after a decisive 6-1, 6-1 defeat at the hands of Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig.

Competing in her first ever Olympic Games, 22-year-old Puig notched her first ever victory over a Top 5 player against the No.4-ranked Muguruza to claim the biggest win of her career.

“I think it is. I consider it the biggest win of my career because it’s at the Olympics. This happens once every four years,” Puig said, grinning in the mixed zone after the match. “Right now, I’m in the clouds. I can’t even believe it because truly it was incredible.”

Muguruza’s usually aggressive game was lacking its bite, and she couldn’t seem to find her rhythm, getting caught a step or two late to the ball time and time again. The Spaniard struck almost twice as many unforced errors as Puig, 29 to 15. Her powerful serve fired off seven double faults, and she was broken six times throughout the hour-long encounter.

Puig took advantage of Muguruza’s lapse and came out of the gate on fire, breaking in the fourth game to quickly build up a 4-1 lead, which she backed up by breaking again and snapping up the opening set. Puig’s zinging forehand and dogged, line-to-line defense powered her through the next set as she broke Muguruza four more times to reach her first ever Olympic quarterfinals.

“I still have goose bumps,” Puig said of serving for the match and her emotional reaction afterward. “You just go into shock, you are trying to keep it together the whole time because you know in that last game, serving at 4-1 especially to consolidate that break, you’re so close to winning you start getting emotional, there’s no hiding it, you start feeling those butterflies, those nerves.

“So I think it’s all that coming out, you keep it bottled up. It’s like a Coca Cola bottle if you shake it, you shake it, you shake it, it’s going to explode. I just tried to not explode till the right moment and it worked.”

The win is a banner result for Puig, who started out the year ranked No.94. Her newly-found consistency has seen her reach the quarterfinals or better at six events as well as climb all the way to a career-high No.33.

“I know what I want to achieve and I’m letting the world know that Monica Puig is here. It’s my time,” she said. “I’ve always been there, but I’ve never been able to maintain the level. But I’m doing it now and I’m in such a good moment.

“I want the medal, and I’m going to do what it takes to reach this goal… I always seem to play my best when I play for my country.”

Puig is set to play against Germany’s Laura Siegemund in the next round for a spot in the semifinals.

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Kerber Passes Stosur Test In Rio

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber continued on course for her first medal at the Olympic tennis event, winning a topsy-turvy 6-0, 7-5 match over No.13 seed Samantha Stosur.

In the midst of a career-best year, the World No.2 aims to add some Olympic hardware to a season that has already seen her triumph in Melbourne and finish runner-up at Wimbledon. Playing a former US Open champion in Stosur, Kerber won a deceptively competitive first set – one that featured a combined 14 break point chances – without losing a game.

The second set proved a far tenser affair; Kerber served for the match at 5-4 but double faulted on her first opportunity to seal victory. Emboldened by the lifeline, Stosur triumphed in a long game that she hoped could trigger a deciding set. But Kerber was undaunted, and keeping her side of the stat sheet clean – 14 unforced errors to 37 from Stosur – the German broke serve once more and clinched her spot in the last eight after 90 minutes on court.

Maintaining a postitive winner to unforced error differential, Kerber hit 19 winners to book a quarterfinal clash with No.10 seed Johanna Konta.

Konta was down a set and a break to No.8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, and had to withstand a late surge from the Russian in the final set before sealing a 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory in three hours and nine minutes.

Kerber and Konta have played just once before, earlier this year in the semifinals of the Australian Open; Kerber won in straight sets.

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Konta Prevails In Kuznetsova Marathon

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Johanna Konta won a marathon encounter with Svetlana Kuznetsova on Tuesday afternoon to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2016 Olympics.

After just over three hours on court a weary Kuznetsova tugged the ball wide to hand Konta a thrilling 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory.

“That’s the longest match I’ve had for ages! I’ve been very fortunate to be part of some spectacular matches in my career and that definitely ranks up there because it’s my first Olympics,” Konta said.

Konta has been playing the tennis of her life this summer, but for the first hour against Kuznetsova it looked like this hectic schedule was finally catching up with her.

Trailing 2-0 in the second set, Konta’s punchy groundstrokes finally began to penetrate her opponent’s defenses, a run of four straight games hauling her back into the contest. Despite surrendering this advantage, the Briton hit back to level the match and then forge ahead in the decider.

Kuznetsova has enjoyed an enviable career, yet has failed to end either of her previous Olympic campaigns on the podium. And even when the cause appeared lost, her desire for this missing medal ensured a tense finale.

Serving for the match at 5-3, Konta came within two points of victory only to falter. This saw the momentum swing back towards the Russian and in Konta’s next service game she carved out three more break points.

Back came the World No.13, a sequence of fearless ball striking enabling her to edge ahead once more. With the finishing line within reach once more, Konta’s nerves reappeared, squandering three match points closing out a famous victory at the fourth time of asking.

Konta, who was ranked outside the Top 200 four years ago, is making her Olympic debut and has found it hard not to become swept up in the spirit of the Games: “Well once you get on court it’s about the opponent, it’s about yourself, it’s about competing. But I do think there are slight differences especially this year there are no ranking points. A lot of players play inspired when it comes to their country and that’s how it should be.”

In the last eight, Konta will face either No.2 seed Angelique Kerber after she brushed aside Samantha Stosur, 6-0, 7-5.

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Venus To Play Olympic Mixed Doubles

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Former World No.1 Venus Williams looked to have wrapped up her Olympic tennis event campaign with tough losses in singles and doubles, but the four-time Olympic gold medalist has one more chance for glory in Rio, pairing with Rajeev Ram in the mixed doubles draw; the pair will play the Netherlands’ Kiki Bertens and Jean-Julian Rojer in the first round. Bethanie Mattek-Sands joins the draw alongside Jack Sock as the second US team.

Often on a mixed doubles court when playing for the Washington Kastles during Mylan World TeamTennis, Venus hasn’t played a full mixed doubles match since 2013 at Hopman Cup alongside John Isner. The five-time Wimbledon winner won the first two legs of a Calendar Year Grand Slam in mixed doubles all the way back in 1996 with Justin Gimelstob; she last played a mixed doubles major in 2006, when she reached the Wimbledon final alongside Bob Bryan.

It will nonetheless be a tall order for Venus to capture a fifth Olympic gold medal in a draw that features top seeds and reigning French Open champions Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, who have paired with reigning Wimbledon winners Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, respectively. Mladenovic has won a pair of mixed doubles titles with Daniel Nestor, most recently at the 2014 Australian Open. Garcia and Mahut begin their mixed campaign against Brazil’s Teliana Pereira and Marcelo Melo, while Mladenovic and Herbert open against Italians Roberta Vinci and Fabio Fognini.

Garbiñe Muguruza also joins the mixed doubles fray as the No.3 seed, playing with nine-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal; their first round opponents are Czechs Lucie Hradecka and Radek Stepanek. Her countrywoman and women’s doubles partner Carla Suárez Navarro will also represent Spain with partner David Ferrer; they will play Romanians Monica Niculescu and Florin Mergea.

Agnieszka Radwanska will try to redeem her disappointing Olympic result in singles by pairing with Lukasz Kubot, while Johanna Konta will play with Jamie Murray on behalf of Great Britain.

Check out the full draw below:

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