Tennis News

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – No.15 seed Elina Svitolina ended the Rio run of 22-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, 6-4, 6-3, to reach the quarterfinals of the Olympic tennis event.

“The feeling is unreal, and I still can’t believe this match ended with a win for me,” she said after the match.

“I was trying to be focused because she’s a great player with great experience coming back in many amazing matches. In the end, it was just point by point.”

Working with coaching consultant Justine Henin, a former World No.1 and recent International Tennis Hall of Fame Inductee, Svitolina has shown steady signs of improvement in the last two seasons, reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal and peaking at No.14 in the world following a title run at the BMW Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur.

But Svitolina had taken just one set from Serena in their previous four meetings, and was by all accounts the underdog against the four-time Olympic gold medalist.

Navigating through tense opening exchanges, Svitolina recovered from losing her early break advantage to reclaim the initiative and serve out the opening set in 34 minutes.

Serena w/d from Montreal citing shoulder inflammation. Could barely spin a serve at the end of the 2nd set. Can she bounce back @usopen?

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) August 9, 2016

The second set saw a struggling Serena, one who appeared to aggravate a right shoulder injury that forced her out of the Rogers Cup last week, roar back from a break down to level the contest at three games apiece, but it wasn’t enough on Tuesday night.

“In that moment, I was just trying to stay in the moment and focus on every point. She was struggling a bit, and I could see that if I pushed a little more, I could be on top. This was the key.”

Serena had given kudos to her opponent following her second round win, something which made the win all the sweeter for Svitolina, who grew up idolizing the World No.1.

“It’s amazing, and one of my dreams to play against her. I don’t think I ever dreamed of beating her. I think I’ll enjoy this moment so much, especially at the Olympics; I’ve always wanted to play here.”

Up next for the Ukrainian is No.11 seed Petra Kvitova, who is hoping to better her quarterfinal finish from the London Olympics in 2012. Kvitova won a titanic three-setter over Ekaterina Makarova earlier in the day.

.@ElinaSvitolina knocks out defending #Olympic champion Serena Williams 64 63 in the 3rd round at #Rio2016! pic.twitter.com/XwWB2UTyiN

— ITF Olympic Tennis (@OlympicsTennis) August 9, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – No.3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza was sent crashing out of the Olympic tennis event in Rio after a decisive 6-1, 6-1 defeat at the hands of Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig.

Competing in her first ever Olympic Games, 22-year-old Puig notched her first ever victory over a Top 5 player against the No.4-ranked Muguruza to claim the biggest win of her career.

“I think it is. I consider it the biggest win of my career because it’s at the Olympics. This happens once every four years,” Puig said, grinning in the mixed zone after the match. “Right now, I’m in the clouds. I can’t even believe it because truly it was incredible.”

Muguruza’s usually aggressive game was lacking its bite, and she couldn’t seem to find her rhythm, getting caught a step or two late to the ball time and time again. The Spaniard struck almost twice as many unforced errors as Puig, 29 to 15. Her powerful serve fired off seven double faults, and she was broken six times throughout the hour-long encounter.

Puig took advantage of Muguruza’s lapse and came out of the gate on fire, breaking in the fourth game to quickly build up a 4-1 lead, which she backed up by breaking again and snapping up the opening set. Puig’s zinging forehand and dogged, line-to-line defense powered her through the next set as she broke Muguruza four more times to reach her first ever Olympic quarterfinals.

“I still have goose bumps,” Puig said of serving for the match and her emotional reaction afterward. “You just go into shock, you are trying to keep it together the whole time because you know in that last game, serving at 4-1 especially to consolidate that break, you’re so close to winning you start getting emotional, there’s no hiding it, you start feeling those butterflies, those nerves.

“So I think it’s all that coming out, you keep it bottled up. It’s like a Coca Cola bottle if you shake it, you shake it, you shake it, it’s going to explode. I just tried to not explode till the right moment and it worked.”

The win is a banner result for Puig, who started out the year ranked No.94. Her newly-found consistency has seen her reach the quarterfinals or better at six events as well as climb all the way to a career-high No.33.

“I know what I want to achieve and I’m letting the world know that Monica Puig is here. It’s my time,” she said. “I’ve always been there, but I’ve never been able to maintain the level. But I’m doing it now and I’m in such a good moment.

“I want the medal, and I’m going to do what it takes to reach this goal… I always seem to play my best when I play for my country.”

Puig is set to play against Germany’s Laura Siegemund in the next round for a spot in the semifinals.

.@MonicaAce93 agradece el apoyo del pueblo de Puerto Rico luego de su victoria hoy en #Rio2016. ????? pic.twitter.com/RLUyH3ofaB

— Comité Olímpico PUR (@ComiteOlimpico) August 9, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber continued on course for her first medal at the Olympic tennis event, winning a topsy-turvy 6-0, 7-5 match over No.13 seed Samantha Stosur.

In the midst of a career-best year, the World No.2 aims to add some Olympic hardware to a season that has already seen her triumph in Melbourne and finish runner-up at Wimbledon. Playing a former US Open champion in Stosur, Kerber won a deceptively competitive first set – one that featured a combined 14 break point chances – without losing a game.

The second set proved a far tenser affair; Kerber served for the match at 5-4 but double faulted on her first opportunity to seal victory. Emboldened by the lifeline, Stosur triumphed in a long game that she hoped could trigger a deciding set. But Kerber was undaunted, and keeping her side of the stat sheet clean – 14 unforced errors to 37 from Stosur – the German broke serve once more and clinched her spot in the last eight after 90 minutes on court.

Retweet this gold medal for luck! #yourteam #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/mWvwS6xbVd

— Olympics (@Olympics) August 7, 2016

Maintaining a postitive winner to unforced error differential, Kerber hit 19 winners to book a quarterfinal clash with No.10 seed Johanna Konta.

Konta was down a set and a break to No.8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, and had to withstand a late surge from the Russian in the final set before sealing a 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory in three hours and nine minutes.

Kerber and Konta have played just once before, earlier this year in the semifinals of the Australian Open; Kerber won in straight sets.

.@AngeliqueKerber is through to the QF at #Rio2016 after overcoming Sam Stosur 60 75; Konta awaits in the last 8 pic.twitter.com/TUX1ygra6I

— ITF Olympic Tennis (@OlympicsTennis) August 9, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Johanna Konta won a marathon encounter with Svetlana Kuznetsova on Tuesday afternoon to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2016 Olympics.

After just over three hours on court a weary Kuznetsova tugged the ball wide to hand Konta a thrilling 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory.

“That’s the longest match I’ve had for ages! I’ve been very fortunate to be part of some spectacular matches in my career and that definitely ranks up there because it’s my first Olympics,” Konta said.

Konta has been playing the tennis of her life this summer, but for the first hour against Kuznetsova it looked like this hectic schedule was finally catching up with her.

Trailing 2-0 in the second set, Konta’s punchy groundstrokes finally began to penetrate her opponent’s defenses, a run of four straight games hauling her back into the contest. Despite surrendering this advantage, the Briton hit back to level the match and then forge ahead in the decider.

Kuznetsova has enjoyed an enviable career, yet has failed to end either of her previous Olympic campaigns on the podium. And even when the cause appeared lost, her desire for this missing medal ensured a tense finale.

Serving for the match at 5-3, Konta came within two points of victory only to falter. This saw the momentum swing back towards the Russian and in Konta’s next service game she carved out three more break points.

Back came the World No.13, a sequence of fearless ball striking enabling her to edge ahead once more. With the finishing line within reach once more, Konta’s nerves reappeared, squandering three match points closing out a famous victory at the fourth time of asking.

Konta, who was ranked outside the Top 200 four years ago, is making her Olympic debut and has found it hard not to become swept up in the spirit of the Games: “Well once you get on court it’s about the opponent, it’s about yourself, it’s about competing. But I do think there are slight differences especially this year there are no ranking points. A lot of players play inspired when it comes to their country and that’s how it should be.”

In the last eight, Konta will face either No.2 seed Angelique Kerber after she brushed aside Samantha Stosur, 6-0, 7-5.

That's what it meant to Johanna Konta!#Rio2016 https://t.co/wd8dFDsc5h pic.twitter.com/TMyXjwdVlo

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) 9 August 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Former World No.1 Venus Williams looked to have wrapped up her Olympic tennis event campaign with tough losses in singles and doubles, but the four-time Olympic gold medalist has one more chance for glory in Rio, pairing with Rajeev Ram in the mixed doubles draw; the pair will play the Netherlands’ Kiki Bertens and Jean-Julian Rojer in the first round. Bethanie Mattek-Sands joins the draw alongside Jack Sock as the second US team.

Often on a mixed doubles court when playing for the Washington Kastles during Mylan World TeamTennis, Venus hasn’t played a full mixed doubles match since 2013 at Hopman Cup alongside John Isner. The five-time Wimbledon winner won the first two legs of a Calendar Year Grand Slam in mixed doubles all the way back in 1996 with Justin Gimelstob; she last played a mixed doubles major in 2006, when she reached the Wimbledon final alongside Bob Bryan.

It will nonetheless be a tall order for Venus to capture a fifth Olympic gold medal in a draw that features top seeds and reigning French Open champions Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, who have paired with reigning Wimbledon winners Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, respectively. Mladenovic has won a pair of mixed doubles titles with Daniel Nestor, most recently at the 2014 Australian Open. Garcia and Mahut begin their mixed campaign against Brazil’s Teliana Pereira and Marcelo Melo, while Mladenovic and Herbert open against Italians Roberta Vinci and Fabio Fognini.

Garbiñe Muguruza also joins the mixed doubles fray as the No.3 seed, playing with nine-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal; their first round opponents are Czechs Lucie Hradecka and Radek Stepanek. Her countrywoman and women’s doubles partner Carla Suárez Navarro will also represent Spain with partner David Ferrer; they will play Romanians Monica Niculescu and Florin Mergea.

Agnieszka Radwanska will try to redeem her disappointing Olympic result in singles by pairing with Lukasz Kubot, while Johanna Konta will play with Jamie Murray on behalf of Great Britain.

Check out the full draw below:

Así queda el sorteo de los dobles mixtos #tenis #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/c9hA5sUXJd

— Tenis Olímpico ITF (@tenisolimpico) August 9, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova backed up their upset over No.1 seeded team in the last round with another victory, coming back from a set down to oust the Canadian team of Eugenie Bouchard and Gabriela Dabrowski 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4 at the Olympic tennis event.

Strycova and Safarova are a regular pairing when playing doubles in Fed Cup, and once again their games clicked together for the Czech Republic as they took on Bouchard and Dabrowski in the second round.

Fresh off of pulling off a straight-sets stunner against three-time doubles gold medalists Serena Williams and Venus Williams, the Czech duo had more trouble getting past the Canadians. The two teams traded breaks twice in the opening set to send it to a tiebreak, where Dabrowski’s monumental effort at the net gave them the edge. But the Czechs recovered from the early deficit and broke twice to take the second set and even up the score.

After trading breaks once more to start off the final set, Safarova and Strycova earned the decisive one for a 4-3 lead and consolidated after a fierce battle. They marched into the quarterfinals after a two-hour and 11 minute encounter.

More to come…

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – The top three seeds will battle for quarterfinal slots on Day 4 of the Rio Games. Chris Oddo breaks down the key Olympic match-ups at wtatennis.com.

Tuesday, Third Round

Centre Court
[7] Madison Keys (USA #9) vs. [9] Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP #12)
Head-to-head: Keys leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Keys played the longest match of this year’s Olympic Games on Monday, taking out Kristina Mladenovic in three hours and 14 minutes.
Madison Keys is one of the few players in Rio who has a big enough game to hit through the slow-playing hardcourts. She’ll have to do just that and then some if she intends to get past the gritty Carla Suárez Navarro on Tuesday. Keys won the pair’s two previous meetings, but both of them have gone three sets. If Keys is going to make it three in a row against the Spaniard, she’ll have to do what she could not against Simona Halep in the Montréal final. In that match Keys struggled to win the longer rallies and didn’t serve well enough to keep the majority of points short. Against a deft baseliner like Suárez Navarro, who defeated Ana Konjuh, 7-6(5), 6-3 on Monday, Keys will have to avoid making this match a physical encounter. After three hours and 14 minutes in the Rio heat on Monday, will Keys have the energy left to execute her game plan?

Pick: Suárez Navarro in three

[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. Elina Svitolina (UKR #20)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 4-0
Key Stat: Williams is bidding to be the first Woman in history to successfully defend an Olympic singles title.
In her Olympic debut, Elina Svitolina has reeled off back-to-back three-set victories, over Andrea Petkovic and Heather Watson, to book her spot in the sweet 16. But the World No.20 will run into a much stiffer challenge on Tuesday when she faces defending Olympic gold medalist Serena Williams. The last four meetings between Svitolina and Williams have seen Svitolina gain some moral victories, but the truth of the matter is that her defensive approach leaves her far too vulnerable against an offensive juggernaut like Williams. Will Svitolina step out of her shell and try to take the game to Williams, or will the Ukrainian be content to leave the match on Serena’s racquet in the hopes that the mighty American might falter? Williams struggled against Alizé Cornet on Monday, but eventually prevailed in straight sets. She could be tested by Svitolina on Tuesday, but expect Williams to sharpen her focus as the medal rounds draw nearer.

Pick: Williams in two

Court 1
[2] Angelique Kerber (GER #2) vs. [13] Samantha Stosur (AUS #17)
Head-to-head: Tied, 3-3
Key Stat: Kerber is bidding to become the first German woman to win a medal at the Olympics since Steffi Graf in 1992.
How impressive has Angelique Kerber’s 2016 been? A maiden Grand Slam title and a Wimbledon final have thrust the cagey German close to the top of the rankings and she’s gunning for more precious hardware here in Rio. Kerber made relatively light work of Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard on Monday and appears to be primed for another deep run in this her coming-of-age season. But standing in her way on Tuesday will be the determined Sam Stosur, a player who is tailor-made for the gritty, slow-paced Rio hardcourts. Stosur has done most of her damage on clay this year, but she just might have a shot to upend Kerber if she can dictate with her serve and play without fear in the pair’s seventh career meeting. Stosur was strong in her straight-sets victory over Japan’s Misaki Doi on Monday, but she’ll have to be even stronger if she hopes to snap her three-match losing streak to Kerber on hardcourts.

Pick: Kerber in three

Court 2
[3] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #4) vs. Monica Puig (PUR #34)
Head-to-head: First Meeting
Key Stat: Neither player has dropped a set this week in Rio.
It looks like Garbiñe Muguruza is turning the page on a disappointing grass court season and reverting back to the elite form that saw her claim her maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros this spring. It may seem like a long time ago, but Muguruza’s performance in Paris left no doubt about her talent, mindset and belief. Now the challenge is to be more consistent. Muguruza, who plastered Japan’s Nao Hibino, 6-1, 6-1, on Monday, is the only seeded player left in her quarter. This is a tremendous opportunity for the Spaniard to open her hardcourt season in style, but she’ll have to get past the dangerous Monica Puig to keep her medal hopes alive. Puig has had a successful season on all surfaces, but the Puerto Rican has had very little experience against the WTA’s elite. She’s only played five Top 10 players in her career, losing four. Can she send a message and create a stir with a big upset in Rio?

Pick: Muguruza in three

Around the grounds…
Great Britain’s Johanna Konta’s magical season continues in Rio. The 25-year-old has yet to drop a set ahead of her round of 16 encounter with Svetlana Kuznetsova. But she’ll be tested in a big way by the resurgent Russian when the pair meets for the first time on Tuesday. Doubles action will also take center stage on Tuesday, as Garbiñe Muguruza, Carla Suárez Navarro, Sara Errani, Kirsten Flipkens, and Ekaterina Makarova will all pull double duty.

By the numbers…
19 – The age of Russia’s Daria Kasatkina, who is the youngest player left in the draw. Kasatkina will face Italy’s Sara Errani on Day 4. The Italian defeated Kasatkina in three sets in their only previous meeting.
11-1 – Serena record in Olympic singles matches. If she wins the title, Williams will tie Steffi Graf (15-1) for the most Olympic singles victories of all-time.
3 – Russia leads the way with three players (Kasatkina, Makarova, Kuznetsova) into the round of 16. The United States, Spain and Germany each have two alive in the draw, with 11 nations represented in total.
1 – Number of Olympic singles champions remaining in the draw (Serena).