Montréal Friday: The Last Eight
With eight women left at the Rogers Cup, who has what it takes to reach the semifinals up north?
With eight women left at the Rogers Cup, who has what it takes to reach the semifinals up north?
Simona Halep takes on Karolina Pliskova in the third round of the Rogers Cup.
WTA Insider | It’s a Manic Thursday in Montréal, with all eight round of 16 matches taking place at the Rogers Cup. Stay tuned for all the action in the latest Live Blog!
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova takes on Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round of the Rogers Cup.
MONTRÉAL, Canada – Simona Halep moved impressively into the last eight of the Rogers Cup with a straight set win over Karolina Pliskova on Thursday.
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Sixty-eight minutes was all it took for Halep, the runner-up 12 months ago, to defuse the big-serving Pliskova and complete a 6-3, 6-3 win.
“I’m happy that I won today. It’s nice to be in the quarterfinals again, a second year in a row,” Halep said during her on-court interview. “I enjoy my time here and I’m looking forward to the next round already.”
That match will pit her against Daria Kasatkina after she upset No.7 seed Roberta Vinci, 7-5, 6-3.
If Halep reproduces the level of tennis that dispatched Pliskova she will prove hard to beat; the Romanian barely put a foot out of place, hitting 22 winners and just nine unforced errors to extend her post-Wimbledon unbeaten streak.
As early as the second game, Halep’s agility and movement was putting her in the ascendency, instinctively darting right to flash a forehand past Pliskova. A couple of points later she had the break, the same wing once again outmaneuvering the Czech.
While Halep was unable to hang onto this advantage she was soon back in front, dragging Pliskova all over the court to open up a 4-2 lead. This time she made Pliskova pay, wrapping up the set with another fizzing forehand a few games later.
Her dominance was even more apparent in the second set, the No.5 seed taking four of the last five games to secure her passage through.
“She’s a good player, I knew that well – I’ve played her a couple of times already this year, so I knew she was going to be very strong,” Halep added. “But I played some good tennis, a high level, and I moved very well.”
Following victory on home soil in Bucharest, Halep has now won seven straight matches, and 20 of her past 23: “I can say that I’m confident, I have a few matches in a row that I won. I’m coming here without expectation, just to enjoy the tennis and to do my best always.”
Les Petits As @banquenationale ont eu la chance d'échanger des balles avec @Simona_Halep après sa victoire. pic.twitter.com/3eUo53zeta
— Coupe Rogers (@CoupeRogers) 28 July 2016
Madison Keys takes on Venus Williams in the third round of the Rogers Cup.
MONTRÉAL, Canada – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova’s excellent summer continued at the Rogers Cup as the Russian shocked 2014 champion and No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-1, earning her first Top 10 win of the season.
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“Woo!” she exclaimed during her on-court interview. “I’m really happy and I knew it’d be a tough match. Every time I play against Agnieszka, it’s 7-6 in the third, or something.
“She’s a really tough opponent, and so I’m really pleased with the win.”
Pavlyuchenkova has played some of her best tennis since linking up with new coach Dieter Kindlmann; showing off some of the ball-striking that took her to a career-high ranking and a pair of Grand Slam quarterfinals in 2011, she reached the last eight at Wimbledon for the first time a few weeks ago and appeared ready to go toe-to-toe with Radwanska on Thursday.
Taking the opening set behind some superb shotmaking, the No.16 seed built a nearly identical lead in the second set, earning two match points on her serve at 5-4.
“I think I’m still recovering from that point we had in the second set – the long one,” referring to a long rally as she attempted to serve out the match.
But the reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion wouldn’t go down without a fight, breaking back on a netcord winner and sneaking off with the ensuing tie-break from an 0-3 deficit.
Follow all the action from Day 3 of Montréal at the WTA Insider Live Blog!
“I think it was mental, especially in the third set after losing the second from being two match points down. I thought I had the match in my pocket, but I lost it. It was very mental, but I’m proud of the way I pulled it through in the end.”
Picking up where she left off in the second set, Pavlyuchenkova used her high-octane game to its full effect against Radwanska, hitting 49 winners to 37 unforced errors while Radwanska hit 21 winners to 19 unforced.
Into her first Rogers Cup quarterfinal, she next plays the winner of Thursday night’s third round between No.6 seed Venus Williams and No.10 seed Madison Keys.
“I really like this tournament and it’s unfortunate that I’ve either had to pull out or not be in the best condition. So I’m happy to finally be in the quarterfinals here.”
Impressive stuff from @NastiaPav! ? ? #CoupeRogers https://t.co/v9yww12VY5
— WTA (@WTA) July 28, 2016
Kristina Kucova takes on Eugenie Bouchard in the third round of the Rogers Cup.
An interview with Madison Keys after her win in the third round of the Rogers Cup.
MONTRÉAL, Canada – No.10 seed Madison Keys edged past Venus Williams in a tight three sets to snap up one of the last quarterfinal spots in the Rogers Cup.
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Keys has looked dominant in all of her matches so far in Montréal, her first tournament since her run to the fourth round of Wimbledon. Although she went into the match against Williams trailing 2-1 in their head to head, she had the added confidence of splitting their last two matches on hard courts – both of which were three-set battles.
“I’m excited,” the 21-year-old said yesterday at the prospect of playing Williams. “It’s always tough playing her.She’s obviously a great player.
“She did well last week, so it’s going to be a tough match. But I’m looking forward to it.”
Williams started out shaky in the opening set as her service woes reared their head once again. She’s struggled with normally trusty shot all tournament long, and in the first few games barely managed to crack the 90 miles per hour mark. Keys, a strong returner, took advantage of the lapse and stayed aggressive to take the opening set 6-1 in just 20 minutes.
“Her first serve was definitely slower than normal,” Keys acknowledged after the match. “But it was funny, her second serve was a lot slower, but because of the court it was bouncing a lot higher than normal. So while her first serve was a little easier to return, her second serve was really tough.”
Williams looked in trouble again in the second set as she quickly went down a break, but the 2014 champion shook off the disappointing start. Keys allowed more errors to spray from her racquet as Williams backed up her vulnerable serve with pinpoint groundstrokes – especially off of the forehand wing. She dominated the tiebreak to force a deciding set.
But after the enormous effort it took to get back on course, it just didn’t look like Williams had any more left in the tank for the final set. She couldn’t maintain her level, allowing Keys to get back to her attacking ways. Keys broke early on in the set and relied on her serve to keep her nose ahead until she took the match 6-1, 6-7(2), 6-3.
She’s set to face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the next round, whose monumental effort against Agnieszka Radwanska earned her a spot in the quarterfinals.
“It’s going to be a tough match,” Keys said of her always-aggressive Russian opponent. “She’s always tricky because she definitely fights till the end and she’s going to hit a lot of winners.
“I think it will be similar to today, you know, kind of deciding when to just get the ball back in a good, neutral spot, or when to kind of pull the trigger and be a little bit more aggressive.”