Tennis News

ZHUHAI, China – Three of the four semifinal spots at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai could be decided as Elina Svitolina, Elena Vesnina and Sam Stosur take the court on Day 3. Preview all the singles action right here on wtatennis.com!

Thursday

Camellia Group

[13/Alt] Timea Babos (HUN #25) vs [12/WC] Zhang Shuai (CHN #28)
Head-to-head: Babos leads 1-0 (first meeting at tour level)
Stat: Zhang can advance to semifinals if she wins four games

The two lowest-ranked players at the WTA Elite Trophy will meet on Thursday with the same goal in mind, but facing very different scenarios. Last-minute singles alternate Timea Babos sits at the bottom of her group after suffering a straight sets defeat against Timea Bacsinszky, but she would have to pull off a massive performance in to advance to the semifinals. Her opponent, Zhang Shuai, needs to win just four games in order to clinch the Camellia Group semifinal spot. And considering the way China’s Zhang was able to leverage the support of her home fans in her 6-1, 6-1 thumping of Bacsinszky, Babos seems to be facing an uphill battle.

Azalea Group

[8] Sam Stosur (AUS #20) vs [11] Caroline Garcia (FRA #23)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Stat: Garcia owns a 1-7 record against Top 20 opponents in 2016

After suffering a straight-sets defeat against Britain’s Johanna Konta, Sam Stosur has one last shot to keep her semifinal hopes alive in Zhuhai. She’s up against Caroline Garcia and needs to win without dropping a set in order to stay alive in the Azalea Group. Stosur is more battle-tested than Frenchwoman, who is making her Zhuhai debut on Thursday, but she can’t afford another slow start against her big-hitting opponent.

“I’m playing another player I have never played before, so that’s I guess kind of unique these days out on tour,” Stosur mused in her post-match press conference. “I know that she plays aggressive tennis, got a big serve, really goes for it. She hits the ball hard.

“In a lot of ways it’s kind of similar to [playing Konta]. I need to, no doubt, get off to better starts. You can’t be giving these girls head starts by four games and expect to be able to come back every single time.”

Rose Group

[4] Elina Svitolina (UKR #14) vs [7] Elena Vesnina (RUS #19)
Head-to-head: Vesnina leads 2-1
Stat: Svitolina needs to win against Vesnina to advance to semifinals

Elena Vesnina is flying high after her doubles victory at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, but she’ll have to hit the ground running in her first singles match at Zhuhai. Her opponent, Elina Svitolina, has her work cut out for her; she needs to beat Svitolina in order to advance to the semifinals, but Vesnina could knock her out if she wins in straight sets.

“[Vesnina] of course really confident, I think, at the moment after winning doubles in Singapore,” Svitolina assessed in her post-match press conference. “I will try just to stick to my game. It’s a new match, new challenge. There will be new opportunities. I will try to create of course opportunities for myself.”

Semifinal Scenarios
Camellia Group: Zhang advances if she wins 4 games vs. Babos on Thursday
Peony Group: Winner of Strycova vs Kvitova (on Friday) advances
Azalea Group: Stosur (vs. Garcia on Thursday) needs to win in straight sets to keep chances of advancing alive.
Rose Group: Svitolina advances with a win over Vesnina on Thursday. If Vesnina wins in straight sets, then Svitolina is out, with Friday’s match between Bertens and Vesnina determining the group winner; Bertens would need to win in straight sets to win the group.

ZHUHAI, China – Top seed Johanna Konta made a confident start to the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai by brushing aside Samantha Stosur in straight sets on Wednesday.

Watch live action from Zhuhai this week at WTA Live Powered By TennisTV!

Flying starts to both sets laid the foundations for an impressive 6-4, 6-2 victory over former US Open champion Stosur.

“Against a player like Sam, who plays such a big ball and has such a big game, I really had to do my best to stay there for every single point and take my chances whenever they came,” Konta said in her on-court interview.

Konta had not played since withdrawing from the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open with an abdominal strain, but she showed no sign of rustiness early on, darting across the net to break serve in the opening game.

.@JoKonta91 smiles at being called one of the hardest working women in tennis @WTAEliteTrophy pic.twitter.com/AykRpXngRF

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) November 2, 2016

At a time of year when the bodies and minds of many players are hankering for a holiday, the Briton looked sharp, maneuvering Stosur around the court with ease to stretch this lead to 4-0. And while the Australian eventually found some success, reducing her arrears to 4-3, Konta steadied the ship, firing down a couple of aces to calmly close out the set.

The second set was even more emphatic, the World No.10 taking the first four games once again as she hurtled towards the finishing line and top spot in the Azalea Group.

Konta, the WTA’s Most Improved Player of the year, narrowly missed out on qualifying for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, but still has plenty to play for on her Zhuhai debut; victory over Stosur confirmed Konta will become the first Briton since Jo Durie in 1983 to finish the year inside the Top 10.

“It doesn’t matter what group you’re in here, every single player is so tough – the elite! – so that I know going into every single match that I get to play this week I have to be 100%.”

Earlier on in Camellia Group, Timea Bacsinszky saw off Timea Babos, 6-4, 6-2.

ZHUHAI, China – Johanna Konta guaranteed that she will end the year ranked inside the Top 10 following Wednesday’s victory over Samantha Stosur at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

Four weeks ago, Konta became the fourth Briton in WTA history to reach the Top 10 when she finished runner-up at the China Open, in Beijing. By winning her opening round-robin match in Zhuhai, she will remain among the elite until the year’s end, becoming the first British player to do so for 33 years.

Jo Durie was the last to achieve the feat, when she finished 1983 ranked No.6, following in the footsteps of Grand Slam champions Virginia Wade (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979) and Sue Barker (1976, 1977, 1979).

Impressive! ??? https://t.co/aFXNFWKQd3

— Jo Durie (@Jodurie) November 2, 2016

For Konta, it is the latest accomplishment of a memorable campaign that has already seen her lift a maiden WTA title, in Stanford, and reach the semifinals of the Australian Open.

Last summer, a 16-match winning run, which began at a lowly ITF Circuit event in Granby, Canada, and ended in the second week of the US Open, sent Konta skyrocketing up the rankings and, more importantly, imbued her with a sense of belonging. Since then she has been a regular at the business end of tennis’ showpiece events, runs at Stanford, Beijing, Montréal, Eastbourne, Miami and the Australian and US Opens cementing her place at the WTA’s top table.

The 25-year-old has a work ethic rivalled by few on tour and unsurprisingly is now concentrating on taking the next step.

“I think [being in the Top 3] is what I dreamt of as a little girl. I dreamt of being No.1 in the world, being the best player out there,” Konta said after her win over Stosur. “I think you got to put also dreams aside a little bit separate just because you got to focus on the work and you got to focus on things that you can control. That’s the effort and attitude that I approach my job, what I do.”