Beijing: Kerber vs. Siniakova
Angelique Kerber takes on Katerina Siniakova in the first round of the China Open.
Angelique Kerber takes on Katerina Siniakova in the first round of the China Open.
Road to Singapore leaderboard, Sunday Recap
RTS No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska and No.8 Madison Keys stay on course; RTS No.9 Carla Suárez Navarro crashes out; RTS No.11 Johanna Konta eases into second round
RTS No.6 Andrea Hlavackova / Lucie Hradecka lose tight opener; RTS No.8 Goerges/Pliskovaadvance comfortably
RTS No.13 Andreja Klepac / Katarina Srebotnik keep Singapore dreams alive by eliminating and ending the hopes of RTS No.9 Raquel Atawo / Abigail Spears
Click here for the complete China Open draws.
Monday Preview
If Keys loses to Kristina Mladenovic (4th match, Lotus, NB 6.30pm) then Karolina Pliskova and Agnieszka Radwanska will qualify for BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, regardless of their own results on Monday.
UPDATED LEADERBOARD
SINGLES:
Qualified: Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Simona Halep
Next In Line (Current Top 8):
How can they qualify in Beijing ?
(note: Scenarios will change if those currently in the Top 8 advance)
Pliskova – qualifies by reaching QF OR
· Keys fails to reach 3r (QF if Pliskova advances to 2r) OR
· Konta nor Kuznetsova reach final*
*both are in the same half so only one of these is possible
Radwanska – qualifies by reaching QF OR
· Keys fails to reach QF OR
· Konta nor Kuznetsova reach final *
*both are in the same half so only one of these is possible
Muguruza – qualifies by reaching final
Cibulkova – qualifies by winning title
Keys – qualifies by winning title
It is mathematically possible for Kuznetsova to qualify this week by winning the Beijing title BUT this would depend on a 2r defeat for Cibulkova.
It is no longer mathematically possible for Konta to qualify this week, even if she won the title.
Currently No.9 to No.13 with points behind current projected cut-off (3137)
It is interesting to note that four of the players that are battling for qualification – Muguruza, Keys, Kuznetsova and Kvitova are all in the same quarter of the Beijing draw, creating some potentially exciting matchups in the R16 at the China Open, a stage where Pliskova and Konta could also meet
DOUBLES
QUALIFIED: Garcia/Mladenovic, Hingis/Mirza, Makarova/Vesnina, Mattek-Sands/Safarova
NEXT IN LINE:
|
Shvedova/Babos |
3975 |
1r v Savchuk/Wang (Mon) |
|
Hlavackova/Hradecka |
3775 |
Lost 1r (Arruabarrena/Kalashnikova) |
|
Chan/Chan |
3760 |
1r bye, 2r-King/Niculescu or Xu/Zheng |
|
Goerges/Pliskova |
3390 |
1r d. Aoyama/Ninomiya , 2r vs Hingis/Vandeweghe or Irigoyen/Maria |
How do they qualify in Beijing:
Timea Babos / Yaroslava Shvedova qualify unless Sania Mirza / Barbora Strycova or Xu Yi-Fan / Zheng Saisai win the Beijing title OR by reaching the Beijing SF
Andrea Hlavcakova / Lucie Hradecka qualify unless Mirza/Strycova reach Beijing final or Xu/Zheng win the Beijing title
Chan Hao-Ching / Chan Yung-Jan qualify unless Mirza/Strycova or Xu/Zheng reach Beijing final OR by reaching the Beijing Final
Julia Goerges / Karolina Pliskova qualify by advancing to the same round or better than Mirza/Strycova and Xu/Zheng and if Klepac/Srebotnik don’t win Beijing title**
Remaining Teams in Possible Contention (points behind current cut-off)
|
|
|
|
|||
|
Xu/Zheng |
-720 |
Must reach at least QFs to stay in contention**
1r vs King/Nicuescu (Mon) |
|||
|
Mirza/Strycova |
-1005 |
Must reach at least QFs to stay in contention**
(same quarter as Goerges/Pliskova)
1r – bye; 2r vs Dabrowski/Martinez Sanchez |
|||
|
Klepac/Srebotnik |
-1230 |
8th at best, must win Beijing to stay in contention and Goerges/Pliskova do not reach SF
1r d Atawo/Spears, 2r vs Arruabarrena/Kalashnikova |
|||
**this will change and require a better result if Goerges/Pliskova advance.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
Agnieszka Radwanska takes on Ekaterina Makarova in the second round of the China Open.
BEIJING, China – World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska defeated the tricky Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets to advance to the third round of the China Open and put herself in pole position to qualify for the WTA Finals.
Watch live action from Beijing on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Makarova did well to avoid the first set shutout – she was down 5-0 when she finally got on the scoreboard and began to mount a comeback – but Radwanska powered through 6-3, 6-4 after just over an hour an thirty minutes on court.
Everything seemed to be going Radwanska’s way at the China National Tennis Center on Monday night. Despite facing fierce resistance from the Russian in the second set, Radwanska struck 20 winners and just eight unforced errors against Makarova’s 25 winners and 31 unforced errors. She also served at 52 percent and fired five aces.
.@ARadwanska with the drop shot to lob combo! ? https://t.co/mjfnrJ9FJ7
— WTA (@WTA) October 3, 2016
With the victory Radwanska edges even closer to qualifying for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. In fact, she’s one win away from a spot in the season-ending event, but she could still qualify without lifting a racquet if both Johanna Konta and Svetlana Kuznetsova lose in the second round.
“I just hope I can [qualify] here, that’s for sure,” Radwanska said after her win last round. “But, well, I had the situation last year when I had to win the Tianjin Open to qualify for Singapore, and I did it. Of course, it was last-minute qualifying.
“I will try everything to qualify a bit before that this year. Everything is open. This is a big event. Everybody can do a lot of points here.”
That doesn’t mean Radwanska’s in the clear just yet – standing between her and a ticket to Singapore is the winner between giant-killer Roberta Vinci and familiar rival Caroline Wozniacki. It would be the third meeting in as many weeks for Wozniacki and Radwanska, with the pair splitting their previous encounters and Tokyo and Wuhan.
An interview with Garbiñe Muguruza after her second-round match at the China Open.
BEIJING, China – The BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global is just under three weeks away, and with just three of the Top 8 players have already been determined in singles – while four teams have qualified in doubles – the China Open will be a crucial battleground for those aiming to earn enough points to book their ticket to Singapore.
The conclusion of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open saw Simona Halep become the third woman to qualify for Singapore after her run to the semifinals. For the Romanian, it marks the third straight year she has qualified for Singapore, having reached the final on her 2014 debut.
In doubles, darkhorses Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova flipped the script in Wuhan by clinching their spot at the WTA Finals by winning the doubles event over a surging Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova. Mirza and Strycova remain outside the Top 8 since forming at the Western & Southern Open, and will need a strong result in Beijing to have a hope of crashing a party the World No.1 herself is already set to attend with former partner, Martina Hingis.
As the China Open enters its third round, defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska is a win away from returning to Singapore and making her eighth WTA Finals appearance in the last nine years after knocking out Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets. Currently into the second round in Beijing, Karolina Pliskova could also make her WTA Finals debut by reaching the last eight.
2015 semifinalist Garbiñe Muguruza is very much in the hunt for a return to Singapore of her own, and could book her spot by reaching the final.
Click here to check out a full list of senarios, here for the updated Road to Singapore leaderboard and here to buy tickets for the WTA Finals!
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her first round match at the China Open.
The big names in women’s tennis – like Simona Halep – came out for a star-studded red carpet gala in Beijing for the China Open player party.
Katerina Siniakova was also at the player’s party, which served as the kickoff to the Song Qingling’s Foundation.
Caroline Wozniacki is continuing her Asian Swing resurgence in Beijing.
The party took place at Beijing’s iconic Birds’s Nest Stadium, which in 2008 played host to the Olympics Opening Ceremony.
The always colorful Jelena Jankovic was the star of the night…
… and she took the stage with ATP star Andy Murray.
2014 finalist Petra Kvitova is back in Beijing looking to do one better in 2016…
…but Lucie Safarova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands can breathe easy – they’ve already qualified for the WTA Finals!
Since the China Open player party is known for fashion, there was a fashion show in the Bird’s Nest.
Karolina Pliskova walked the red carpet with one of the models…
…as did Elina Svitolina!
China Open officials – along with WTA CEO Steve Simon, far right – applauded the show and the kickoff of the tournament’s new charity.
Dominika Cibulkova’s journey back from last year’s Achilles surgery has been far from straightforward. However, over the past six months the Slovak has completed the rehabilitation with a sequence of results that have returned her to the Top 10.
In Katowice this March she returned to the winner’s circle, which she followed up by reaching a maiden Premier Mandatory final, in Madrid, and then further silverware, this time on the Eastbourne grass. Her latest run, to the final of last week’s Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open took Cibulkova’s 2016 win tally now stands at 44 – a number only bettered by World No.1 Angelique Kerber.
Strangely, given her assured play all week, Cibulkova had never previously won a match in Wuhan. But roused by an engaged crowd, the 27-year-old reeled off five in six days to come within touching distance of her first Premier 5 title and break new ground in the rankings.
The brilliance of her final opponent, Petra Kvitova – whose revival took her up to No.11 – ensured there was no silverware at the end of the week, but she was unable to stop Cibulkova from reaching a career-high No.8.
And she is not the only player on the rise:
Svetlana Kuznetsova (+3, No.10 to No.7): Cibulkova’s semifinal victim Kuznetsova continued her resurgence to consolidate her Top 10 status and reach her loftiest perch since June 2010.
Louisa Chirico (+11, No.74 to No.63): Although Chirico was handily beaten by contemporary Daria Kasatkina in the Wuhan second round, by coming through qualifying she begins the week at her highest ranking to date.
Kristyna Pliskova (+34, No.100 to No.66): Last week’s other title winner, Pliskova, did it the hard way coming through an opening test against Sara Sorribes Tormo, then winning a rollercoaster final with Nao Hibino. This ended a wait to join sister Karolina as a WTA title winner and also brought a new career-high ranking.
An interview with Peng Shuai after her win in the second round of the China Open.