Birmingham: Kerber vs. Gavrilova
Angelique Kerber takes on Daria Gavrilova in the second round of the Aegon Classic Birmingham.
Angelique Kerber takes on Daria Gavrilova in the second round of the Aegon Classic Birmingham.
BIRMINGHAM, England – Defending champion Angelique Kerber battled back to defeat Daria Gavrilova and book a belated place in the quarterfinals of the Aegon Classic Birmingham.
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The match was one of the many to fall victim to Thursday’s biblical thunderstorms, Gavrilova leading 6-5 when the heavens opened. Kerber made a disastrous start to the restart, losing her serve and with it the set. However, as the match wore on the German began to find her rhythm and in the end ran out a comfortable 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 winner.
“It’s good to turn around the match after the rain delay, but it’s always tough to play against her so I’m really happy I played my game from the first point and found my rhythm again and won the match after losing the first set,” Kerber said.
“It was a new day, a new match, trying to just play aggressive tennis and get used to the grass. It was a good preparation for Wimbledon.”
Happy #FistpumpFriday for @AngeliqueKerber as she continues her #AegonClassic defence with a win! pic.twitter.com/5XugiWSbxG
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) June 17, 2016
Kerber did not take long to get over the disappointment of losing the opening set, outmaneuvering her young opponent to manufacture a couple of break points in the opening game of the second. Only one was required, and with the German now in her groove Gavrilova never looked like wresting back the initiative.
While Kerber’s unforced error count was as miserly as ever – she committed 21 in the match – Gavrilova struggled in vain for consistency. There was no masking the Australian’s frustration as she dropped the second then slipped 5-1 behind in the decider, Kerber closing out the contest in style, crouching down to uncork her 27th winner of the match.
It will be a busy day for Kerber, who will return later to take on Carla Suárez Navarro in the last eight. Suárez Navarro booked her place with a rollercoaster win over Andrea Petkovic, frittering away a 5-2 final set lead before recomposing herself to complete a 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) victory.
There was disappointment for the home nation, as Heather Watson and Johanna Konta both slipped to defeat. British No.1 Konta made a bright start, breaking in the opening game but was up against it from then on as an impressive Yanina Wickmayer eased to a 6-3, 6-3 win. Watson lost to former finalist Barbora Strycova, 7-5, 6-4.
Madison Keys takes on Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals of the Aegon Classic.
BIRMINGHAM, Great Britain – 21-year-old Madison Keys is one win away from reaching the Top 10 for the first time in her young career, ousting teenager Jelena Ostapenko, 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-2, to reach her first semifinal at the Aegon Classic.
Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
“I think I’ve been playing pretty well this week,” Keys said during her on-court interview. “I had a bit of a slow start in the first set, but I’m happy to be coming back tomorrow.”
Keys is coming off a career-best clay court season, one that saw her reach her first red clay final at the Internazionali BNL d’italia and the second week of the French Open. Back on her beloved grass courts, the American has gone from strength to strength, weathering the storm from a streaky Ostapenko to secure victory in just under two hours.
Ostapenko defeated two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova in the previous round, and was on course to back up the upset early on, edging ahead by a break and eventually taking the first set in a tie-break.
“It’s tough being on the tour for this long and being at the old age of 21; these 19 year olds are tough!” she said with a laugh.
Jelena Ostapenko takes the opening set tiebreak vs Keys 7-6(1)! #AegonClassic https://t.co/GrCcq41gOr
— WTA (@WTA) June 17, 2016
Falling behind a break of serve to start the second, Keys rebounded in style, hitting 43 winners to 30 from the young Latvian, and only 21 unforced errors in the three-set thriller.
“I think I just took a breath and took time away from her a little bit better. At that point, it’s either change tactics or go on to the next tournament.”
The American later elaborated in her post-match press conference.
“This year, I’ve settled into my emotions a little bit more and have been able to play a lot calmer, which I think has helped me make smarter decisions, which in turn maybe makes me look a little bit more mature.”
3rd set!@Madison_Keys battles back to force a decider vs Ostapenko 6-7(1), 6-4! #AegonClassic https://t.co/QHi0Jgygjk
— WTA (@WTA) June 17, 2016
Breaking serve six times, the 2015 Wimbledon quarterfinalist raced out to a double break advantage in the decider and held her nerve to book a semifinal encounter with Carla Suárez Navarro, who pusted reigning Australian Open champion, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.
Should Keys reach the final, she will be assured of a Top 10 debut, becoming the first American to do so since Serena Williams in 1999. The last time three Americans were ranked inside the Top 10 was all the way back in September of 2005, when the Williams sisters were joined by then-No.2 Lindsay Davenport.
“Both are tough. I’ve obviously played Angelique quite a few times. I don’t think I’ve played Carla as many. But no matter what it’ll be a tough match, so definitely looking forward to it.
“Right now I’m just focused on the semis, and if things go well, maybe I can add to my title count!”
Carla Suárez Navarro takes on Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals of the Aegon Classic.
MALLORCA, Spain – Caroline Garcia continued her domination of No.3 seed Ana Ivanovic, dispatching the Serb in a titanic affair in the quarterfinals of the Mallorca Open, 7-6(9), 5-7, 6-3.
Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Playing in her first-ever grass court quarterfinal, Garcia had plenty of momentum against Ivanovic, having won their last three matches in 2015. But Ivanovic had played some solid tennis of her own in Mallorca, and recovered from an early break to force a first set tie-break against her French nemesis.
“I had so many opportunities, but I stayed positive even when I’d lose my advantage,” Garcia said in her post-match press conference. “It’s good to win matches like this against a big player.
“I was down in the tie-break and had no choice but to go for it and take the opportunity before she could.”
Garcia saved a whopping five set points in the ensuing sudden death – three in a row from 3-6 down – and snuck off with the opening set on her second opportunity. Undaunted, Ivanovic fought back hard in the second set, winning three games in a row to level the contest after being two points from elimination.
“On grass, it’s more mental with so many short points. I was feeling good on the court, and would stay aggressive on the return to put pressure on Ana.
“I think movement is most difficult for me, especially when it’s humid and slippery.”
The Frenchwoman indeed maintained the pressure in the third, racing out to a 3-0 lead and weathering one last Serbian serge to serve out her spot in the semifinals, where she’ll play none other than Kirsten Flipkens, 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist and Ivanovic’s doubles partner.
“It’s a good test for me because she loves grass. I played her a couple weeks ago on clay, so it’ll be much different. She has the shots to play on this surface, so I will have to be aggressive and put the pressure on her.”
.@FlipperKF: “Me he sentido muy bien en la pista”. Congratulations Kirsten! ???? pic.twitter.com/OD1ALyexah
— MallorcaOpen (@MallorcaOpen) June 17, 2016
Flipkens edged past Paraguayan qualifier Veronica Cepede Royg, 7-5, 6-3, to reach her second WTA semifinal of 2016, and her first since finishing runner-up in Monterrey.
“It was warm today but I had a good match today,” the Belgian said in her post-match press conference. “I think she started off really well and at the beginning it was really tough to play my game. But I got into the match better and better, serving well.
“For sure, she was in good shape coming out of qualifying, so I needed to see how her game was. She got an early break, so it was important for me to break her back when she was serving for the set. I was always winning the first point on her serve, but it was a matter of getting into those second and third points.
“Once I broke back to 5-5, I felt like I was back in the match.”
With half the season left to go, Flipkens admitted she already achieved her main goal for 2016 – representing her country in the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“I’ve never played there before, so I’m very happy about that.”
No.2 seed Jelena Jankovic and Anastasija Sevastova snapped up the final two semifinal spots of the day; the former No.1 dispatched the resurgent Sorana Cirstea, 6-3, 6-3, while Sevastova recovered from a second set wobble to defeat Mariana Duque-Mariño, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
.@CaroGarcia is happy! ? ¡Ya está en las semifinales del #MallorcaOpen! pic.twitter.com/oF5VfzHjXc
— MallorcaOpen (@MallorcaOpen) June 17, 2016
Yanina Wickmayer takes on Johanna Konta in the second round of the Aegon Classic.
Last week, in honor of the Euro 2016 and Copa America kicking off, we asked tennis fans a big question: if WTA players were a national team, who would be in your starting lineup? After one week of voting, the results have been tallied up and we’re ready to unveil the Fan Voted WTA XI.
But first, let’s remind you who we chose for our official WTA starting lineup:
The WTA plays in a classic 4-4-2 formation, which means that along with a goalkeeper, we’re fielding four defenders, four midfielders, and two strikers.
Of course, fans had other ideas for which players would make the best team, so we put it to a vote.
After tallying up the numbers, here’s who made the cut in the Fan Voted WTA XI:
Here’s how it breaks down:
FORWARDS
We chose to play two of the most powerful attack-minded players in the game as our strikers, but it looks like fans wouldn’t take the field without starting the player with one of the best winning percentages in 2016: Victoria Azarenka.
We chose:
· Serena Williams
· Garbiñe Muguruza
The fans voted:
· Garbiñe Muguruza
· Victoria Azarenka
Though Azarenka also garnered a lot of votes as a potential defender, the overwhelming majority of fans voted her as a striker – and we can’t say we disagree.
MIDFIELDERS
Our midfield is packed with skillful and creative players, but fans were torn as to which playmakers they wanted in their Fan Voted WTA XI. In the end, here’s how the voting played out:
We chose:
· Agnieszka Radwanska
· Simona Halep
· Timea Bacsinszky
· Belinda Bencic
The fans voted:
· Simona Halep
· Agnieszka Radwanska
· Kristina Mladenovic
· Svetlana Kuznetsova
Fans voted for a mix of youth and experience by adding Mladenovic and Kuznetsova to the star duo of Radwanska and Halep. Though Halep was also voted as a potential defender, more fans thought she’d be a better fit in the midfield.
DEFENDERS
Our defenders are a rock-solid bunch of the most consistent, defense-minded returners and counter punchers in the game – here’s who made the cut in the Fan Voted WTA XI.
We chose:
· Angelique Kerber
· Victoria Azarenka
· Sara Errani
· Caroline Wozniacki
The fans voted:
· Angelique Kerber
· Dominika Cibulkova
· Sara Errani
· Elina Svitolina
Both back lines seem pretty impenetrable – which one do you think would stand up to the test?
GOALKEEPERS
In our WTA XI, we trusted our goal in the hands of Petra “Cech” Kvitova, but fans had a different player in mind for this position.
We chose:
· Petra Kvitova
The fans voted:
· Andrea Petkovic
Although she also grabbed a lot of votes as a defender, the vast majority of fans thought Petkovic would do a better job in goal. Do you agree with this substitution?
There’s your fan-voted WTA Starting 11! Do you agree with the fan vote or the WTA starting lineup? Which team do you think has a better shot at title-winning glory? Tweet us your thoughts – right here @WTA!
An interview with Madison Keys after her win in the quarterfinals of the Aegon Classic.
BIRMINGHAM, England – Jelena Ostapenko defeated Petra Kvitova for the second time this season after prevailing in a topsy-turvy second-round encounter at the Aegon Classic Birmingham.
Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Two years ago, Ostapenko was crowned Wimbledon junior champion and this affinity with grass was clear to see as she defused Kvitova, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
“Since juniors, I think I did well on grass. It’s my first time here, but I really like it here,” Ostapenko said. “I think grass is my favorite surface, so I’m looking forward to two more tournaments. I think I can do well on grass because I have good serve and good backhand and forehand, so for grass, I think it’s good.”
There was little in the way of break opportunities until the seventh game, when Ostapenko fended off the first threat. The next game she was presented with a chance of her own when the No.5 seed sent a forehand long. She converted with a stroke of good fortune, her backhand return crashing into the tape before dropping onto Kvitova’s side of the net.
Kvitova responded by moving 3-0 ahead in the second set, only to be halted first by her opponent, who broke back in the fifth game, and then the rain. On the resumption it appeared that Ostapenko’s moment had passed, Kvitova wrapping up the set then breaking to love at the start of the decider.
Earlier this year, Ostapenko fought back to defeat Kvitova en route to the Doha final, and she showed similar gumption to repeat the feat. A couple of pin-point returns helped wipe out the early deficit, Ostapenko then outmaneuvering Kvitova on the baseline to hit the front a short while later. There was still time for a late wobble, Kvitova carving out a couple of break points at 5-3, but the teenager held firm to close out victory.
Ostapenko’s run this week increases the likelihood of a Wimbledon seeding, and following this victory over a two-time champion expectation levels heading into the year’s third major will soar. “I mean, I think on grass, she’s one of the most dangerous opponents because she won twice Wimbledon. I’m happy to win today.”
The Latvian, who also beat Kvitova in Doha earlier this year, will now face Madison Keys. In another of the early matches, Keys swiftly dealt with qualifier Tamira Paszek, 6-1, 6-3, to keep her hopes of reaching the Top 10 alive.
To do so she will need to reach the final, although her post-match press conference was dominated by other concerns. “I feel like I’m up against the rain this week. Really happy that we were able to get on the court today,” Keys said. “Once I was out there, I was definitely really focused on getting on, playing as efficiently as possible, and hopefully finishing before the rain starts again.”