Tennis News

WUHAN, China – Lucie Safarova returned to winning ways after edging past Varvara Lepchenko on the opening day of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.

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A difficult summer for Safarova brought just two wins in four outings, and her 7-5, 6-3 triumph will provide some much-needed confidence heading into the final stretch of the season.

In a closely contested opening set, the Czech whipped a brilliant forehand return to claim the decisive break in the penultimate game then held onto the momentum to take her place in the second round, where she will face compatriot and No.5 seed Karolina Pliskova.

Elsewhere, Belinda Bencic’s injury-riddled season continued when she was forced to retire following a nasty tumble against No.9 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Belinda Bencic takes a rough fall on court vs. Kuznetsova. Tripped over her foot and landed on her backside. Worrisome given past injury.

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) 25 September 2016

The Swiss teenager began the year in fine fashion, reaching the second week of the Australian Open and becoming the youngest player in nearly seven years to break into the Top 10.

Since then, though, it has been one injury mishap after another; a back injury stalled her progress in spring – forcing her to miss the French Open – before a wrist problem forced her to retire from Wimbledon then pull out of the Olympics.

“I felt it in exactly the same place where I was injured – I think it’s the coccyx bone. I’m going to get some tests to figure out more, and we will see,” Bencic said.

Def one of the thoughest years for me ever. But every single one of your supporting messages are making me feel better. THANK YOU everyone❤️

— Belinda Bencic (@BelindaBencic) September 25, 2016

Kuznetsova was leading 6-3, 3-4 when the match came to its premature conclusion. In the next round she will meet Heather Watson or Madison Brengle.

And Bencic was not the only big name to suffer misfortune. No.12 seed and 2014 quarterfinalist Timea Bacsinszky retired with a viral illness when trailing 6-3, 4-3 against Louisa Chirico.

Also advancing were No.13 seed Roberta Vinci, who defeated Olympic champion Monica Puig, 6-3, 6-3, and Ekaterina Makarova, a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 winner over wildcard Sabine Lisicki.

The Asian swing is heating up, with nine of the WTA’s Top 10 players set to battle for precious ranking points at this week’s Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. We break down the opening day matchups here at wtatennis.com.

Sunday
First Round

[9] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #10) vs. Belinda Bencic (SUI #26)
Head-to-head: Bencic leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Bencic has lost eight of her last 11 matches.

After a long season that has seen her battle injuries to her back and wrist, 19-year-old Belinda Bencic is hoping to rediscover her winning ways in Asia this fall. Bencic’s plan to do so in Tokyo backfired when she was ousted by Caroline Wozniacki in three sets in her first match, and the draw gods haven’t been any kinder to the Swiss in China, as the world No. 26 is slated to face No. 9 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova here in Wuhan. Kuznetsova has had some very strong results this year, particularly on hard courts where she has won seven of her last eight against players ranked outside the Top 20. But Kuznetsova has not played since falling in the second round of the US Open to Caroline Wozniacki, and she was in very poor form last year at Wuhan when she won only one game in a lopsided loss to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Will the Russian be able to shake off the rust and rise to the Bencic challenge, or is it time for Bencic to get her game on track and notch another Top 10 win?

Pick: Kuznetsova in three

[13] Roberta Vinci (ITA #15) vs. Monica Puig (PUR #33)
Head-to-head: Vinci leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Puig has won 11 of her last 14 hardcourt matches.

Olympic Gold medalist Monica Puig suffered a Rio letdown at the US Open when she was knocked off in the first round by China’s Saisai Zheng, but Puig hit the ground running in Tokyo last week, proving that her Rio heroics were no fluke. The 22-year-old took out Petra Kvitova for the second consecutive time to reach the Toray Pan Pacific Open quarterfinals, stretching her win streak against the Top 20 to six, before falling to Agnieszka Radwanska. The unseeded Puerto Rican will look to keep the positive vibrations going when she meets Italy’s Roberta Vinci for the second time with a spot in the second round on the line. Both players know their way around a hard court, but stylistically they couldn’t be more different. Puig attacks with relentless, percussive topspin, while Vinci switches up the beat to produce an off-kilter and often times maddening amount of slice. It was Vinci that prevailed in the pair’s only previous meeting on the clay of Madrid last season. Can Puig, buoyed by her newfound confidence, power past the Italian in Wuhan?

Pick: Puig in three

[WC] Sabine Lisicki (GER #113) vs. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS #39)
Head-to-head: Makarova leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Lisicki is 2-10 against Top 50 competition in 2016.

A pair of former Top 15 players who have been off their game in 2016 will do battle in the final match of the day on Centre Court on Sunday in Wuhan. It’s been a tough year for Sabine Lisicki, but the German is hoping that she can build some momentum down the stretch after reaching the quarterfinals at Guangzhou last week. Lisicki reached her second quarterfinal of the season, winning twice in straight sets before falling to Jelena Jankovic. The Grand Slam season may be over for Lisicki, but there’s still a lot to play for. The 27-year-old German, outside of the Top 100 for the first time in over five years, will look to make up points this autumn as she did not play after the U.S Open in 2015 due to a knee injury. Lisicki is making her second appearance at Wuhan and owns a 13-18 record on the season. Former world No. 8 Makarova has had mixed results this year as well, but she has managed four quarterfinals and a 23-18 tour-level record.

Pick: Makarova in two

By the Numbers:
19 – Bencic is the youngest player in this week’s draw at Wuhan. The Swiss will turn 20 next March.
8 – Number of American players in this week’s draw in Wuhan. Three (Louisa Chirico, Varvara Lepchenko and Shelby Rogers) will be in action on Sunday.
2 – Former champions in the draw. Venus Williams (2015) and Petra Kvitova (2014) won the first two stagings of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.

TOKYO, Japan – Former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki continued her late-season resurgence by upsetting Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

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Continuing the form that took her to the US Open semifinals, Wozniacki, who lifted the title in the Japanese capital six years ago, returned to the final after a thrilling 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory over the No.2 seed.

Radwanska had her chances, serving for the match at 5-3 in the second set, but ultimately Wozniacki, who committed just 29 unforced errors during their two hours and 51 minutes on court, was just too consistent.

“I think every time I play her, we play really tough matches – and long ones. Luckily I managed to win that second set and then we both fought so hard in that third one,” Wozniacki said.

In the final she will face Japanese wildcard Naomi Osaka, who fought back to reach her maiden WTA final with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Elina Svitolina.

“I don’t really think too much about it,” Osaka said. “I just know [Wozniacki] is gonna get a lot of balls back and I feel like I’m just going to have to be patient and stick to the game plan – when I think of a plan.”

Osaka entered the tournament having never won a match at Toray, and has now become the first Japanese finalist since Kimiko Date-Krum 21 years ago. It’s also the first WTA-level final for the 18-year-old.

“I don’t really feel pressure here since the first match, since everyone is ranked higher than me. I’m a wildcard, so I just try to do my best. But this, for sure, it’s my best tournament.”