Stanford: Sunday Highlights
Highlights from final round action at the Bank of the West Classic.
Highlights from final round action at the Bank of the West Classic.
Johanna Konta has been one of the best servers on the WTA in 2016, and she continued to use that strength to secure her first career title with a 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 win over Venus Williams in the Bank of the West Classic.
In Sunday’s final, Konta won 61% of her service points, slightly ahead of her season performance of 60%, which ranks 10th on the WTA.
SAP Tennis Analytics for Coaches shows that in the three-set final, Konta’s service numbers were significantly better in the first and third sets, both of which she won, compared to the second. In the two winning sets combined, she won 68% of points on her serve. In the second set, which she lost, she won just 51% of service points.
Konta started the second set well, winning eight of her first 10 service points while opening up a 4-1 lead. However, in the next four service games of the set, she won just 41% of her service points, allowing Williams to force the decider.
In the third set, Konta showed resiliency by responding to win 66% of her service points. She faced three break points in that final set, saving all of them.
Overall for the match, Konta saved 67% of the break points she faced. She served up an ace on two of the eight break points she won.
The SAP Coaches View combines scoring information direct from the chair umpire with tracking data from HawkEye to allow for an in depth look at five different aspects of a match. Each tracking option can be filtered to narrow the focus to specific situations within a match, such as break points. This information is available directly to coaches in real-time during a match on their SAP tablet and also available to them online after matches.
“Service” tracking shows the landing point for all serves. The display differentiates between first serves, second serves and aces. Additional data on the screen shows the percentage of overall service points won as well as looking specifically at first and second serves. It can also be narrowed to show the performance on particular points in the match, such as break points.
Service success was the difference as Konta won her maiden WTA title.
Venus Williams had Sunday’s shot of the day at the Bank of the West Classic.
STANFORD, CA, USA – No.3 seed Johanna Konta played one of the best matches of her career to dismiss former No.1 and two-time Bank of the West Classic champion Venus Williams, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, to capture her first WTA title.
Watch live action from Bastad, Stanford and Washington DC this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
“It’s quite an incredibly humbling experience,” she said after the match when asked about winning her first title. “It’s a validation of all the hard work you’ve already put in and a motivator on the things you want to keep improving on, and the lengths you might go to in order to become that much better at your discipline
Konta kicked off her career-best season with a win over the elder Williams sister in the first round of the Australian Open, going on to become the first British woman to reach semifinals Down Under since Sue Barker in 1977. The top-ranked Brit has only continued to rise since then, making the second week of both Indian Wells and Miami, and finishing in the semifinals of the Aegon International in Eastbourne.
“I’ve played her twice before and knew I’d be playing a magnitude of experience. Venus Williams doesn’t need an introduction, and I knew going into that I’d need to stay focused on myself and to be really grateful for the experience and try to learn from her within the match. I wanted to leave it all out there, but also absorb everything that I could possibly reinvest in my career moving forward.”
Playing Stanford for the first time at 25 years old, Konta overcame a quarterfinal wobble against Zheng Saisai to emphatically defeat No.2 seed Dominika Cibulkova on Saturday, and was on course for a similarly landmark win against Williams on Sunday, surging out to a set and 4-1 lead.
“Credit to her for playing great tennis; she played so well and all of her balls were landing today,” Venus said after the match. “It wasn’t my best day, but I tried to stay in there and fight, and that helped me get an opportunity to win the match.”
Where Konta was making her debut, Venus’ story began in Stanford over 20 years ago, playing her first WTA tournament at the Bank of the West Classic – even winning a match before falling to Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in three sets. The American has played incredible tennis in her own right this season, and the Wimbledon semifinalist wouldn’t go down without a fight.
“Just because it’s 4-1 doesn’t mean the match is over; it’s not a favorable scoreline if you happen to be down, but it’s not over.”
From the aforementioned deficit, Venus won six of the next seven games to level the match at a set apiece.
“Quite honestly, you’d expect nothing less from a champion,” Konta said. “They don’t give away any match, much less a final. It was her 80th, so you could only imagine the number of different situations that she’s already been in. It was about keeping things in perspective, and understanding there’d be ebbs and flows in the match.”
Konta recovered in surprising fashion in the decider, relying on a fabulous serving day – one in which she hit 12 aces to three from Venus – and an aggressive ground game (42 winners to 39 unforced errord) to shake off a tricky final game to serve out her maiden WTA trophy.
“Every single point was a battle, and I tried to win as many battles as possible.
“The simpler you keep things, the more clarity you have, and the less dumb you play!”
Believe it @JoKonta91! ? #BOTWC pic.twitter.com/qO3pqpmmtO
— WTA (@WTA) July 24, 2016
A preview of the Bank of the West Classic final between Venus Williams and Johanna Konta.
BASTAD, Sweden – No.6 seed Laura Siegemund captured her maiden WTA title after a stunning week at the Ericsson Open, dispatching rising Czech star Katerina Siniakova, 7-5, 6-1.
Watch live action from Bastad, Stanford and Washington DC this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
“This is one of my favorite tournaments, and I can’t believe I won this one!” Siegemund said after the match.
“I was in good shape, and was playing well last week as well. I knew I could do well here but winning the whole thing is something you might not really expect or think about.”
Siegemund, who made her main draw debut in Bastad back in 2010, first showed off her clay court prowess earlier in the season at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix – where she defeated Simona Halep, Roberta Vinci, and Agnieszka Radwanska to reach her first WTA final as a qualifier.
“I remember being a qualifier was a big deal back then, and I’ve always played well here from some reason. I guess it has to do with really liking the place and enjoying your off-court time.”
But the 28-year-old came full circle in Bastad, outlasting former Stuttgart finalist and countrywoman Julia Goerges in the semifinals and surviving a tricky opening set against Siniakova to run away with the win in 83 minutes.
“I tried to find my game from the beginning. I wanted to be aggresisve and play some clay court tennis because she certainly likes to hit and be inside the court to dominate. I wanted to make her move; it didn’t work quite as well as I’d hoped, and at times I wasn’t happy with my game, but it’s not about perfection, it’s about making it work in that moment. Obviously, it worked out in the end.”
Set to make her Olympic debut at the Summer Games in Rio, Siegemund is projected to not only crack the Top 40, but also tentatively reach a career-high ranking of No.32, putting her in contention for a seed at the upcoming US Open.
“I got a new perspective on tennis; it’s a great sport, and that kind of gave me some freedom on the court to try things and change my game.
“When I’m tight, like today in the final, I take a minute to sit on the bench, close my eyes. If it all gets too much, I think about how this is amazing, and who wouldn’t want to be here? It’s great weather, your favorite place to be, and all these people are here to watch you play and do what you love to do. It might be a feeling of thankfulness, and trying to stay out of that narrow, unhappy perspective. I try to see the big picture more now, than before.”
Time to celebrate! Pop the ? @LauraSiegemund!! #EricssonOpen pic.twitter.com/Iq0WTimmD3
— WTA (@WTA) July 24, 2016
Johanna Konta takes on Venus Williams in the final of the Bank of the West Classic.
UPDATE: Serena Williams withdrew from the tournament on Sunday citing inflammation in her shoulder, leading to a reshuffling of the draw that caused the following shifts:
– Halep has been drawn into the bottom half of the draw, along with No.2 Angelique Kerber, and No.8 Roberta Vinci, and No.10 Svetlana Kuznetsova. Before Serena’s withdrawal she had a tricky road to the final, but with No.3 Garbiñe Muguruza now moving up to replace Serena in the top half of the draw, Halep’s path is slightly easier. She opens up against either Daria Gavrilova or Annika Beck, with a potential third round match against Karolina Pliskova. Her projected quarterfinal opponent could be either Kuznetsova or Petra Kvitova.
– Muguruza replaced Serena on the top line of the draw and will open against either Monica Puig or a qualifier. She could play Stanford finalist Johanna Konta in the third round with either Dominika Cibulkova or Carla Suárez Navarro looming in the quarterfinals. If the draw holds to form, she could see Venus Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, or Madison Keys in the semifinals.
Can Simona Halep match her 2015 summer season?
This time last year Simona Halep was down in the dumps. She was still smarting from two bad early losses at the French Open and Wimbledon, and in her mind her season was over. That mentality freed her up to play some of her best tennis of the season, making the final in Toronto, final in Cincinnati, and her first-ever semifinal at the US Open.
Now she has to defend it.
So can Halep, currently ranked No.5, replicate or better that run? One thing is for sure: her decision to skip the Olympics can only help. The Romanian star announced last week that she would opt out of Rio due to concerns over the Zika virus. While missing the Olympics will be disappointing, the decision does free Halep up to focus on a real shot at winning the US Open. In fact with the bulk of the players interrupting their season by heading down to the Olympics, she could be the who takes advantage of an unfocused, fatigued, depleted field this summer.
Can Garbiñe Muguruza get back on track?
It took a month and a half before Angelique Kerber came down from the high of winning her first major title at the Australian Open. But by the end of March she was back to playing high-quality tennis and imposing herself in the draws. Since winning the French Open, Muguruza has gone 1-2, losing to Kirsten Flipkens in Mallorca and Jana Cepelova at Wimbledon. Again, a dip is expected earning your first major title, but when will it turn around for Muguruza?
The summer offers a big opportunity for the young Spaniard. She floundered here last year – again, after making her first Slam final at Wimbledon – winning just one match through the entire Emirates Airlines US Open Series (including the US Open). That opens up a big point grab for her this year, where she can gain some ground on Kerber and Serena in the rankings.
Can Angelique Kerber play healthy?
The World No.2 withdrew from Bastad last week due to an elbow injury and is now in a tough situation of balancing her need to play with her need to rest, especially with the upcoming Olympics.
Can Venus Williams ride that momentum?
Could we see Venus in Singapore for the BNP WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global? She’s currently 18th in the Road to Singapore rankings but she could make a big move if she continues her current form. After making the fourth round of the French Open and the Wimbledon semifinals, she’s into the semifinals of the Bank of the West Classic this weekend. She looks relaxed and calm on court, and when she’s needed it she’s been able to elevate her game to get some tough wins. Another deep run in Montréal could really boost her chances not only to qualify for Singapore but also get her back in the Top 5.
First Round Matches to Watch: Lucie Safarova vs. Eugenie Bouchard, Monica Niculescu vs. Jelena Ostapenko, Yulia Putintseva vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Madison Keys vs. Elena Vesnina, Caroline Garcia vs. Barbora Strycova, Alizé Cornet vs. Andrea Petkovic, Misaki Doi vs. Daria Kasatkina.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
An interview with Johanna Konta after her win in the final of the Bank of the West Classic.
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Former World No.5 Eugenie Bouchard will make her Olympic debut in Rio, the Canadian confirmed ahead of the Rogers Cup in Montréal.