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Venus Makes Winning Start To 72nd Major

Venus Makes Winning Start To 72nd Major

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NEW YORK, NY, USA – Venus Williams began her record-breaking 72nd Grand Slam campaign with an eventful win over Kateryna Kozlova on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Father time remains undefeated, or so the saying goes. However, a couple of months on from her 36th birthday, Williams continues to defy the aging process, taking the best part of three hours to defeat Kozlova, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.

The tennis landscape is much changed since a teenage Williams – accompanied by beads and garish outfit – made her Grand Slam bow against Naoko Sawamatsu at the 1997 French Open. Remarkably, the American, now an iconic figure in the sport, remains a threat at its four flagship events.

Venus Williams

Last year, quarterfinal appearances at both the Australian and US Opens – backed up by no little success elsewhere – propelled Williams back into the Top 10. And this campaign she has maintained the momentum, reaching the semifinals at the site of her greatest triumphs, the All England Club.

At Wimbledon, Williams matched Amy Frazier’s Open Era record of 71 Grand Slam appearances, marking the occasion with rollercoaster victories over several of the game’s brightest young talents. Against Kozlova – who was just three years old when Williams made her US Open debut – she was once against forced to draw on her wealth of experience.

The 2000 and 2001 champion has never lost an opening round match at Flushing Meadows, a statistic that looked in little danger when she pocketed the first set and moved 4-2 ahead in the second.

Kozlova, though, had other ideas, silencing the partisan crowd by rattling off five of the next six games to take the match the distance. A similar story looked to be unfolding in the decider, the Ukrainian falling 5-2 behind only to produce an unerring down-the-line backhand to break back in the ninth game. This time she was unable to complete the comeback, erring on the backhand to succumb the following game.

Despite a messy afternoon the No.6 seed, who finished with 63 unforced errors, was characteristically upbeat afterwards. “The errors told the story today,” Williams said. “Once you’re at this level everyone can play. Today I had to hit a lot of balls and I think that will help me going into the rest of the tournament.”

Venus Williams

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Halep Kicks Off Day 2 In NYC

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

WTA Insider | On the second day of the WTA Insider Live Blog, the top half of the draw begin their US Open campaigns, including Simona Halep and Serena Williams.

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Insider Podcast: Ivanovic At The Open

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NEW YORK, NY, USA – The 2016 US Open is well underway after Madison Keys took Day 1 all the way into the latest finish for a women’s match in tournament history.

But before Keys thrilled the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd, there was plenty of tennis on the menu. No.2 seed Angelique Kerber and No.3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza each played first round matches that fell on opposite ends of the difficulty spectrum, while a reflective No.9 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova booked a second round clash with former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki for what will be their 13th meeting in a tense head-to-head.

2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic is also on the line to discuss her tough season, and her hopes for what’s to come. It’s all here on the first Daily Dispatch from Flushing Meadows; check it out below!

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or on any podcast app of your choice to ensure you never miss an episode when they go live. Reviews are always helpful, so if you like what you’ve heard so far, leave us one. You can also get new episode alerts by following us on Twitter @WTA_Insider.

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Ivanovic Squashes Retirement Talk

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NEW YORK, NY, USA – Earlier today, No.26 seed Ana Ivanovic was stunned in straight sets by Czech player Denisa Allertova 7-6(4), 6-1 in her opening match at the US Open.

It was Ivanovic’s fourth first-round loss in a row in a season marked by early exits and a drop in ranking.

After a fantastic couple of seasons in 2014 and 2015 – which saw Ivanovic get back into the Top 10 following a spate of injuries and return to the French Open semifinals – the former No.1 is down to No.31, and the last semifinal she’s reached came in February at St. Petersburg.

Following the latest in a string of disappointing results, Ivanovic was asked directly in her post-match press conference if she had any plans to retire.

Here’s what she answered:

“No, not at all. I just need to really see why is this happening, you know. Because, I mean, I had struggles throughout my career; I had some tough times. This is not the first time I’m going through this.

“It just hurts because I know what I invested.”

Earlier in the week, Ivanovic told WTA Insider of her frustrating 2016 season and what she considers one of her lowest moments: losing in straight sets to qualifier Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round of Wimbledon after weeks of putting in hard work at the gym and on the courts.

“I’ve really felt, always, that if you put the hard work in, it will give results,” she told the WTA Insider Podcast. “But now, I feel like I’ve been putting in so much hard work in, but the results just haven’t been coming in the matches.

“It’s always a process, but also a Catch-22. Because, to win matches you need confidence, but to get confidence you need to win matches. So that’s a little bit where I’m at.”

Despite the disappointments she’s suffered this year, Ivanovic embraces the tough moments and bad luck, viewing them as just another facet in her long career.

Another Ivanovic trait? Finding her way back.

“I really haven’t been lucky in my career,” Ivanovic said. “I always felt like I had to go through hard work, and I had to do it all myself.

“And in a way, I’m proud of it. Because I know that I actually deserve whatever I’ve achieved. Because everything was a product of hard work, nothing was just given to me.”

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or on any podcast app of your choice to ensure you never miss an episode when they go live. Reviews are always helpful, so if you like what you’ve heard so far, leave us one. You can also get new episode alerts by following us on Twitter @WTA_Insider.

Follow @WTA_Insider

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Halep Flies Into Second Round

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NEW YORK, NY, USA – No.5 seed Simona Halep got her US Open campaign off to a flying start, dropping just two games in her dominating hour-long romp over Kirsten Flipkens, 6-0, 6-2.

“It was a tough match, because for me the first round of a tournament is always tough,” Halep said. “I started pretty well, I played my game today. I had enough time to do what I wanted.”

“I’d give it less than a 9,” she added, a joking nod to the legendary Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci who watched on from her box.

Despite the humble self-evaluation, the numbers revealed just how dominant her performance was. Halep won almost double the points that Flipkens did – 60 to 35 – and twice as many winners, 22 to Flipkens’ 11. She also won 80% of the points at the net, and converted six of her 10 break point chances, against Flipkens’ one of three.

Halep had all the answers to Flipkens’ tricky all court game and backhand slice during the 61-minute encounter. She credited the insight from her coach, Darren Cahill, as a key in her game plan.

“When we found out that I play against Flipkens, he had a very good slice and he trained me very well,” she said. “So today it was very easy to play against this slice.”

Flipkens avoided the dreaded double bagel by grabbing a late break at 6-0, 5-0 to get on board in the second set. She took advantage of a couple of nervy points from the Romanian as her opponent’s nerves crept into her game.

“I played pretty well ’til the end, but you know, sometimes even if you have experience you are too nervous to finish the match. I just tried to stay focused,” Halep told ESPN’s Rennae Stubbs after the match.

The Romanian righted the ship in the end and coasted into the second round with ease. She’ll play French Open finalist Lucie Safarova next, after the Czech scored a 6-4, 6-4 win over Daria Gavrilova.

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Kuznetsova, Wozniacki Renew NY Rivalry

Kuznetsova, Wozniacki Renew NY Rivalry

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NEW YORK, NY, USA – Tied at six matches apiece, the rivalry between Svetlana Kuznetsova and Caroline Wozniacki is among the most underrated in tennis.

Meeting for the 13th time in the second round of this year’s US Open, the pair differs in almost every way. The Russian’s power game contrasts the Dane’s wall-like defenses. Kuznetsova’s flashes of brilliances have been rewarded with two Grand Slam titles, while Wozniacki’s maddening consistency earned her the No.1 ranking for 67 weeks – the ninth largest total in WTA history.

Two of their most high-profile meetings have come in Flushing Meadows; the first was all the way back in 2009, when Kuznetsova was a reigning French Open winner, while Wozniacki was a star on the rise. The Dane took the match in three tense sets to make it all the way to her first major final. Two years later, it was Wozniacki who was on top of the world, taking on a feisty veteran Kuznetsova, who was eager to earn her way back into the upper echelons in the game.

“She’s been playing well, and we’ve had a lot of grueling matches, like 7-6 and 7-5 in the third,” Wozniacki told press after her first round win over Taylor Townsend. “It’s a match I’m looking forward to. I’m just going to have fun out there and enjoy every moment.”

“It’s another match,” Kuznetsova echoed after her 6-1, 6-2 victory against Francesca Schiavone. “She’s a great opponent, a great player. It’s going to be another tough one. I just have to go out there and play my best; that’s it.”

The tides have turned yet again, and Kuznetsova is back in the Top 10 with her best season since 2009 already in the books, while Wozniacki is at a nine-year low at No.74 after months of injury woes.

Caroline Wozniacki

“It hasn’t been a good season, because I’ve been injured for most of it,” Wozniacki mused. “That’s something you can’t really do much about other than keep working and keep trying to get your body in check. I’m just happy to be here and happy to get another match.”

Wozniacki christened the new Grandstand court with a titanic match against Townsend, who battled through three rounds of qualies and was a set away from unseating the former No.1.

“It was really difficult, with her lefty spin serves. I like to say I’m one of the better returners on tour, but that did not show and so that was really frustrating. Once we kind of got going in the rally, I felt ok, but I’m just happy to be here.

“It was a little windy, and I wasn’t sure which way the wind was going, but I was just like, ‘Ok, especially on the return, just get it in – anywhere!'”

The gambles paid off against the young American, but an even tougher test looms against Kuznetsova, who defeated her in straight sets just two months ago at Wimbledon.

“I don’t take much from Wimbledon, to be honest. Hardcourts are a completely different game. At this point, I’m just happy when I’m healthy, and that’s been my focus this year, just trying to get back healthy and feeling 100% body-wise. It’s been a struggle, and I feel like I’m there now, and make the most of it for the rest of the year.”

Svetlana Kuznetsova

Kuznetsova can relate to ups and downs; she calls them a career.

“Tennis players, we get affected by the press, by the people, by the parents, by the country, and by the federation. What you start to learn is to not be affected by the idea that everyone wants something from you, because I’m not a dollar. There’s no way everyone’s going to like me!

“I’ve had to get comfortable within myself, and so if you don’t like me, it’s not my problem. I’m trying to be a better person to everyone else, and a better player every day. That’s important for me, and I just leave other things behind that I cannot change. I was letting myself down because of the expectations of other people, but it’s more important for me not to let down my own expectations.

“When you start to focus on that, you get a different perspective of everything.”

It’s a perspective she’ll need to earn the winning edge in their storied head-to-head, but not one that can be earned overnight.

“It’s all about work, day by day. That’s why I said, I can’t let myself down, because if you let down after you lose, you miss a good strike of days. Days count by days and accumulate, and then you get better. It’s many days of work, and not one day, where I had a dream or something.”

Kuznetsova and Wozniacki play for a spot in the third round on Wednesday.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

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Record-Setting Night For Keys

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NEW YORK, NY, USA – Tennis fans say that the US Open hasn’t really began until a match ends after midnight. In that case, Madison Keys and Alison Riske have inaugurated the year’s last Grand Slam in style, recording the latest finish ever in a women’s match.

“I’m feeling pretty good. I just looked up, and it’s almost 2 a.m.,” Keys joked after the match. “Who wants to go party?

“My party will probably be a protein shake and then going to sleep, but you guys can go out and celebrate for me!”

Earlier in the night, Keys didn’t have much reason to celebrate just yet. Her match was the last one on Arthur Ashe Stadium after a dramatic Opening Ceremony celebration and a men’s match delayed her start time. Riske and Keys took to the court around 11:20 p.m., and shortly afterwards Keys dropped a tight opening set.

But as the clock flew past the midnight mark, Keys’ best tennis came together, rallying to a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 victory. The match ended at 1:48 a.m., the latest finish for a women’s match in US Open recorded history. The previous record was 1:35 a.m., when Samantha Stosur defeated Elena Dementieva in the fourth round back in 2010.

“I didn’t know I could play such great tennis after 1 a.m.,” Keys said. “But it had to be after 1 a.m., where I started playing a little bit better, so I think that was the key.

“I’m not usually a morning person, but this kind of morning, I am. 6 a.m., 7 a.m. is tougher.”

And as for Riske?

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Don't Hurt Yourself, Naomi

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NEW YORK, NY, USA – Naomi Osaka scored a huge win on her US Open main draw debut, and she was powered to victory by a little bit of Lemonade.

Up against the No.28 seed CoCo Vandeweghe in a match dubbed by the WTA Insider team as a must-see opening round contest, Osaka had to recover quickly after dropping the first set in a tie-breaker. She rallied for a 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3 upset over the big-hitting American.

“You wouldn’t want to know what I was thinking,” Osaka said, when asked what was going through her head after losing the first set in a tiebreak to Vandeweghe. “I shouldn’t really repeat what I was thinking. But basically just try to focus more because I had moments in the tiebreaker and I hit some very bad shots.”

Osaka finished 2015 ranked No.203, and her consistency has skyrocketed her up the rankings to enter the US Open with a career high of No.81. She’s been boosted by strong Grand Slam results, too, reaching the third round at her Australian Open and French Open debuts this year.

So what was the key to last night’s comeback victory?

“I don’t know,” she laughed. “I just relaxed and started singing Beyoncé in my head. It’s the [song] where she’s very upset. It’s the one where she’s wearing the Yeezy clothes and cursing into the camera. That one.”

“You just gotta let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be baby.”

With the win, Osaka advances to the second round where she will face a qualifier Duan Ying-Ying of China.

And while Osaka was singing Beyoncé en route to victory, she wasn’t the only one feeling inspired by the pop icon.

This past weekend, World No.1 Serena Williams took to the stage at the MTV VMAs to present none other than Beyoncé herself.

Serena, who was featured in the singer’s visual album Lemonade, introduced her good friend and fellow tennis fan before the pop star tore up the stage in what was arguably the performance of the night.

And then the next day, Osaka – big fan of Serena and Beyoncé – sang the same songs on her way to the US Open second round.

Sometimes things really do come full circle.

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USANA & The WTA's New Haven Aces

USANA & The WTA's New Haven Aces

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

The 2016 Aces For Humanity campaign was launched by USANA and the WTA at the BNP Paribas Open and continued in New Haven for the Connecticut Open, where every ace hit by a WTA player at Premier-level events translates into a donation to the USANA True Health Foundation, whose mission is to provide the most critical human necessities to those who are suffering or in need around the world.

For every ace hit by any player the WTA donates $5, and for every ace hit by a USANA Brand Ambassador, it’s $10.

USANA Brand Ambassadors Eugenie Bouchard, Samantha Stosur, Kristina Mladenovic, Madison Keys, Monica Puig, Sloane Stephens, Zheng Saisai, Alizé Cornet and Caroline Wozniacki hit four of the 100 aces in New Haven – raising a grand total of $520 throughout the week. Bouchard hit the most with three aces.

Read more about the campaign here and see below to find out who’s hit the most aces so far!

USANA 

USANA

#AcesForHumanity Fan Giveaway

It’s simple: before each WTA Premier tournament guess how many total aces will be hit.
Next up is the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. Last year there was a total of 152 aces hit. It’s now your turn, take your best guess of how many will be hit this year.

How To Enter:
• Follow @WTA and @USANAFoundation on Twitter and before each WTA Premier tournament tweet the number of aces you predict will be hit during the whole tournament (Singles, Main Draw)
• Include the hashtag #AcesForHumanity
• Eastbourne deadline is September 20 at 11:59pm ET
• The winner will be announced September 26th

Aces For Humanity is a joint WTA and USANA initiative that benefits the USANA True Health Foundation, which provides critical human necessities to those in suffering or in need around the globe.

For full rules on how to enter, click here.

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