State Of Play 2015
State Of Play 2015
Remarkably, Serena Williams arrived back on home soil for the North American hardcourt stretch with just one defeat to her name all season. That came against Petra Kvitova in Madrid, and while surprising, was not altogether unexpected. Few, though, could have predicted the second player to blot the World No.1’s copybook.
Belinda Bencic had long been touted as one to watch from the WTA’s emerging crop of talented youngsters, a seamless transition from junior prodigy to professional success doing little to downplay the hype.
Last September she made her first waves in the senior ranks, reaching the US Open quarterfinals, before making a further breakthrough this summer by lifting the title in Eastbourne.
After losing early in Washington DC, the 18-year-old headed north of the border looking to build some momentum ahead of her return to Flushing Meadows. What transpired, surpassed even her own lofty expectations, as wins over former World No.1s Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic set up a semifinal meeting with the current incumbent.
In her three career encounters with members of the Top 3, Bencic had lost comfortably, and when Williams briskly pocketed the opening set this trend looked set to continue.
Unlike so many of Williams’ opponents, the Swiss had no intention of going quietly. In their previous meeting, last spring in Madrid, Bencic had won just three games, but the exuberance of youth and those recent accomplishments seemed to imbue her with the confidence to stage a remarkable recovery.
The last two times the Rogers Cup was staged in Toronto, Williams walked away with the title, but in the second set it was Bencic looking like the serial champion, hurtling into a 5-3 lead. One particular rapid-fire exchange at the net was reminiscent of Martina Hingis at her flowing best.
Williams rallied, but was unable to prevent the teenager leveling the match. In the decider, Bencic went for the jugular, surging into a commanding lead once more.
As the finishing line approached, the Swiss looked like in danger of wavering. Luckily for her, Williams, was even tenser. In the final game, Bencic delivered a driving backhand to reach match point, then making no mistake with a forehand winner to seal the biggest win of her fledgling career.
“I can’t describe the feeling right now,” Bencic said. “I was very overwhelmed from the situation on the court, but I’m just so happy the forehand landed in and she couldn’t reach it anymore.
“It was an incredible feeling. I have no words.”
The stars of the WTA battle it out day after day and week after week for wins, titles and ranking points – but who’s getting the most clicks on wtatennis.com, the official website of the WTA? That’s what we’ll be finding out all week this week as we count down the Top 50 Most Popular Players Of 2015.
From marquee names to WTA Rising Stars and doubles specialists, the WTA has an all-star cast battling it out all season long, and they’re all on the countdown. Where’s your favorite player on the list?
Let’s continue the Top 50 Most Popular Players Of 2015 countdown today with No.20 to No.11!
20] Madison Keys (USA)
The leading American WTA Rising Star burst into prominence at the Australian Open, reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal and then soaring into the Top 20. And she kicks us off today at No.20.
19] Roberta Vinci (ITA)
The Italian veteran captured the hearts of the tennis world in New York with her stunner over Serena Williams and her first Grand Slam final. She was the 19th-most clicked on player this year.
18] Angelique Kerber (GER)
Kerber won four Premier titles – Charleston, Stuttgart, Birmingham and Stanford, the most prestigious title haul of the year after Serena Williams – and comes in at No.18 on our Top 50 countdown.
17] Timea Bacsinszky (SUI)
Barely in the Top 50 at the start of 2015, the Swiss went as high as No.10 in the world in the fall, largely thanks to two WTA titles, the French Open semis, Wimbledon quarters and Beijing final.
16] Belinda Bencic (SUI)
This Swiss also had a breakthrough year – first two titles, a stunner over Serena Williams in Toronto and a win away from the Top 10 at one point. There’s one more Swiss to come on this list though…
15] Lucie Safarova (CZE)
Safarova had a massive season, particularly the first half – first Premier title in Doha and first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros. She was the 15th-most clicked on player on wtatennis.com in 2015.
14] Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
Though she finished the year ranked No.22, Azarenka – a former World No.1 – is always one of the most popular names in the game. She was the 14th-most clicked on player on wtatennis.com this year.
13] Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
Pliskova, one of the leading WTA Rising Stars on the tour, reached six finals in 2015 and made it as high as No.7 in the world in the summer. She also led the tour for aces this year.
12] Martina Hingis (SUI)
The most clicked on doubles specialist this year was none other than the Swiss Miss, Hingis – though she did make headlines around the world by making a singles comeback in Fed Cup in the spring.
11] Flavia Pennetta (ITA)
And rounding out today’s portion of the Top 50 Most Popular Players Of 2015 countdown is Pennetta, who won her first major at the US Open, peaked at World No.6 and then called it a career.
Come to wtatennis.com tomorrow for No.10 to No.1 on the Top 50 Most Popular Players Of 2015!
Former No.1 Ana Ivanovic hadn’t made it past the quarterfinals of a major tournament since her maiden Grand Slam victory at the 2008 French Open, but her chances for ending that drought looked better than ever as she began the year at her highest ranking in six years.
The Serb played up to her No.5 ranking from the first week of the year, reaching the finals of the Brisbane International and pushing top seed Maria Sharapova to three grueling sets in the championship match.
A broken toe interrupted her Australian summer hardcourt swing, however, and it wasn’t until the clay court season that she began playing some of her best tennis again.
At the site of her sole Grand Slam success, Ivanovic fought through a draw of dangerous floaters, including two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist Yaroslava Shvedova, Misaki Doi, and WTA Rising Star Donna Vekic, before taking out Ekaterina Makarova, 7-5, 3-6, 6-1, in their first match since the 2011 Australian Open, which the former No.1 lost in a heartbreaking 10-8 final set.
“In the third I knew I had to step up my level, because she’s a very dangerous opponent. She gets a lot of balls, and she was very aggressive on her down-the-line shots. I tried to take that away from her.”
That confidence-building win helped her cruise past another WTA Rising Star in Elina Svitolina, dropping just five games to the Ukrainian youngster playing in her first major quarterfinal.
“It’s been a long road and hard work. And you can’t take any victory for granted, let alone a quarterfinal. It’s not every day that you reach that – it’s been a long time. So I am really pleased.”
A solid summer swing featured some difficult draws, none tougher than 2014 Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova in the first round of the US Open. But the Serb rebounded well in Asia, reaching the quarterfinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open and the semifinals of the China Open – finding herself very close to a second straight appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Ending the season with some niggling back issues, Ivanovic resolved to spend the off-season with former coach Nigel Sears – with whom she reunited earlier this year – getting stronger and more ready for an all-out assault on 2016.
“I just felt that I’ve been playing better than my results have been showing. That’s been a little bit frustrating. But I did have tough opponents.
“I played some good tennis [in Paris] and obviously was very happy to be in the first Grand Slam semifinal since 2008. It’s just in between there have been so many changes. It’s been a little bit tough, especially first part of the year. After the French I sort of felt Wimbledon was a little bit disappointing, but I felt like I got a good structure and good team after that.”
Guido Pella is making a habit of cutting it close this week.
The 25-year-old Argentine, who won his fourth Challenger title of the year on Sunday in Montevideo, Uruguay, missed his Tuesday flight to Sao Paulo for the ATP Challenger Tour Finals.
Pella traveled home to Buenos Aires after the final, but encountered an unexpected delay in flying to Sao Paulo two days later. He would arrive in the Brazilian metropolis the night before the competition was set to commence on Wednesday. The World No. 76 opened his bid for a second title at the Challenger season finale with a clash against sixth seed Radu Albot, and once again things didn’t go according to plan. The Moldavan raced out to a 5-0 first set lead and eventually seized the opener 6-3, before Pella roared back for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 win after one hour and 50 minutes.
“I arrived here yesterday at 6:30PM because I missed my flight,” Pella said. “I knew it would be hard because I didn’t have the chance to practise much on this court and I needed to play with a lot of heart. He had a good start and I wasn’t comfortable, but I got better afterwards.
“Playing the Challenger Finals is always amazing, luckily it’s my second time around and I managed to win the first match.”
Read: 10 Questions With Guido
Pella, who won the title in 2012, moved into a tie for second among match wins leaders this year with his 44th victory, drawing level with Marco Cecchinato and Daniel Munoz-de la Nava. He joins home hope and eighth seeded wild card Guilherme Clezar atop Group B following Day One at the Pinheiros Club.
Challenger Finals Viewers’ Guide
Clezar continued his dominant run of form at the ATP Challenger Tour Finals, streaking past Cecchinato 7-5, 6-4. He won an impressive 81 per cent of first serve points and 73 per cent on his second serve, while converting two of three break points. The Brazilian has now won four of his last five matches at the tournament after finishing runner-up last year to Diego Schwartzman.
“I’ve been practising really well over the last two days, so I was really confident with my game,” Clezar said. “I believe it was a consequence of that. I had a good run last year, so I feel like it gives me confidence to repeat it this week. I hope I can bring that to the next round.”
Pella and Clezar will square off in Thursday’s nightcap, with Group B supremacy at stake. Pella leads the FedEx ATP Head2Head series 3-1, most recently winning this year at the Guayaquil Challenger. Cecchinato battles Albot in other action.
Cervantes, Lorenzi Move Atop Group A
Top seed Paolo Lorenzi will face off against Inigo Cervantes in a rematch of the Eskisehir (Turkey) final after both notched opening wins on Wednesday. Lorenzi, who has not dropped a set in three meetings with Cervantes, rallied past Farrukh Dustov 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 after two hours and 23 minutes.
“It was an extremely tough match,” Lorenzi said. “I didn’t have a good start. He won the first set and had a break in the second. I played without pressure after that. I’m happy that I won, not with the way I played but the important thing is getting the win. It’s not easy to play after two weeks out of competition.”
Read: Lorenzi “The goal is to reach 400 wins”
Cervantes, meanwhile, also mounted a comeback in upsetting countryman and third seed Munoz-de la Nava 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-5. The Spaniard broke into the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time on Monday, following a final run in Montevideo (l. to Pella). He extended his 2015 match wins lead with victory No. 46.
“In a tournament like this, in São Paulo, all eight players have the same level and all matches will be tough,” said Cervantes. “Dani is a Spanish player and it was the second time we faced each other this year. I won the other match but in three sets as well. It is always really tough. I’m glad that I could win the match even if I didn’t play my best tennis.”
Caroline Wozniacki and Serena Williams reunite in Denmark: The two friends will be playing an exhibition event in Copenhagen on Thursday. Here’s a clip of Caroline getting a high-five from Serena after reeling off the World No.1’s incredible resume.
Gotta stick up for your friends! https://t.co/5uOImFAP4g
— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) November 25, 2015
Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic team up: The two Frenchwomen announced they will play doubles together in 2016. Now can we come up with a good team name?
Happy to annonce my new partnership with @KikiMladenovic for 2016 !!! Exciting Goals ahead of us ! ???? ?? pic.twitter.com/WxIsOZeJoM
— Caroline Garcia (@CaroGarcia) November 25, 2015
The 2016 WTA Season is less than 40 days away: Not that we’re counting. Here’s where the Top 10 women will be during Week 1:
Here’s where @WTA Top 10 will start their 2016 seasons, which begins in less than 40 days. pic.twitter.com/CcIYJli3Ta
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) November 25, 2015
More Entry List News: To see where the big names are playing, read this.
Sports Illustrated Podcast: The folks over at SI.com convened a roundtable to discuss the merits of Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic’s tremendous seasons.
Get Vania King a cap and gown: Congratulations are in order for Vania King, who finished her degree at the University of Massachussetts, Lowell.
After 4 yrs I completed my degree @UMassLowell! Thnx to my sister Mindy @minx_clothing for the impromptu grad party? pic.twitter.com/Fi6OJBO8MY
— Vania King (@queen_v21) November 25, 2015
Elena Vesnina’s wonderful week continues: You’re doing it right, Elena.
Okaaaay, you really want to make everybody jealous!!! ??? That's a ridiculous prefect photo! ? @EVesnina001 https://t.co/OuU3WHgkBL
— Sabine Lisicki (@sabinelisicki) November 25, 2015
The first three tournaments of the upcoming 2016 WTA season – Brisbane, Shenzhen and Auckland – have announced the top players that will be playing their events, and oh what a Week 1 it’ll be.
The Brisbane International, a Premier-level event, will host four of the world’s Top 10 players – Simona Halep (No.2), Garbiñe Muguruza (No.3), Maria Sharapova (No.4) and Angelique Kerber (No.10) – as well as a slew of other Top 20 players in Timea Bacsinszky, Carla Suárez Navarro, Belinda Bencic, Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani. Jelena Jankovic and Victoria Azarenka are also among the line-up.
“With just under 40 days to go until play starts at Queensland Tennis Centre tickets are in hot demand,” Cameron Pearson, the Tournament Director for the Brisbane International, said of the news.
“I encourage all fans to book their seats early and join in the excitement of the event.”
The Shenzhen Open, an International-level event that boasts an elevated $500,000 in prize money, announced the first three players of its field on Wednesday and two Top 10 stars are among them – Agnieszka Radwanska (No.5) and Petra Kvitova (No.6). Radwanska and Kvitova were the last two standing at the WTA Finals, with Radwanska edging Kvitova for the biggest title of her career.
Eugenie Bouchard, a former Top 5 player, was the third player announced by the tournament.
“I am very happy to be coming back to Shenzhen,” Kvitova said. “Last year I had a very nice time, everyone was very kind and it was also very nice to see my good friend Li Na when I was there. I look forward to playing there again, to seeing Li Na again and I hope I can win the tournament this time.”
The ASB Classic, another International-level event, will have arguably the hottest player of the fall season – Venus Williams – as its top seed. Williams won her two biggest titles in more than five years during the Asian swing in 2015, at Wuhan and Zhuhai, and burst back into the Top 10 on the year-end rankings on November 9 – it was the former World No.1’s first time in the Top 10 since 2011.
It doesn’t end there, either – two more former No.1s, Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki, and two-time Grand Slam champion and former No.2 Svetlana Kuznetsova will also be headed to Auckland.
“It’s amazing. Three former World No.1s, three Grand Slam champions and two former winners in one year is an incredible result. Our strongest yet,” Tournament Director Karl Budge said of the field.
For more information on Wednesday’s field announcements, visit the three tournaments’ official websites – Brisbane, Shenzhen and Auckland. And stay tuned on wtatennis.com for all the latest too!
Brits take on Belgians in away tie
Andy Murray will attempt to end his best-ever year on a high note by bringing the Davis Cup back to Great Britain in the final against Belgium this week. The tie will be hosted in Ghent, Belgium on indoor clay.
Andy and brother Jamie Murray, who was also nominated to the team, have recently faced adversity on the court, having both been eliminated in the group stages of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals last week. However, both have enjoyed great tour-level results in 2015 – Andy will finish the year No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time, while Jamie qualified for the Final Showdown in doubles for the first time and holds a career-high No. 7 Emirates ATP Doubles Ranking.
Andy will be counted upon to do the heavy lifting for his country. By winning both singles rubbers this week, he would join John McEnroe and Mats Wilander as the only men to go 8-0 in a calendar year since the introduction of the World Group in 1981. Murray has featured in eight of the nine rubbers Great Britain has won this year.
Joining the Dunblane native on the British side are youngster Kyle Edmund (No. 100 Emirates ATP Ranking) and big-hitting Dominic Inglot (No. 23 Emirates ATP Doubles Ranking). Edmund has yet to play a live Davis Cup rubber, while Inglot is searching for a first doubles victory after losing to the USA’s Mike and Bob Bryan in 2014 and 2015.
Defending the Belgian colour in the port city of Ghent will be a familiar line-up of World No. 16 David Goffin, No. 84 Steve Darcis, No. 108 Ruben Bemelmans and No. 128 Kimmer Coppejans, the same four-man lineup which propelled Belgium to victory in the quarter-finals against Canada and in the semi-finals against Argentina. Team leader Goffin is 11-2 lifetime in Davis Cup singles appearances, and has won his past six matches. His only loss on clay was in five sets and came against Serbia’s Viktor Troicki in 2013.
Belgium has never won the Davis Cup and has not reached the final since 1904. Nine-time champions Great Britain is attempting to end a 79-year title drought.
To kick off our Season In Review Series, ATPWorldTour.com revisits the fiercest rivalries of 2015. Today we feature Kei Nishikori vs. Milos Raonic:
The young twentysomethings met only twice in 2015, but Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic sure made the most of the occasions. Quantity? Maybe not. Quality? You bet.
The first encounter came in January in the semi-finals of the Brisbane International, where Raonic unleashed 34 aces to power his way past his Japanese opponent 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 7-6(4). The 6-foot-5 Canadian, 24, held each of his 18 service games in the two-and-a-half hour battle. All three sets were decided by tie-breaks, and neither player was able to break the other’s serve.
Nishikori, 25, would exact revenge in Davis Cup play in March, his clutch three-hour 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win forcing a fifth and decisive rubber in the opening-round World Group clash between Japan and Canada.
“I’m happy with the way I fought, I’m happy with the way I competed, and that’s all I can ask of myself,” said Nishikori.
This time, Nishikori withstood a 28-ace barrage from Raonic to prevail in five sets in the hostile territory of Vancouver’s Thunderbird Sports Centre on the campus of the University of British Columbia, where rowdy fans waved flags and sported red-emblazoned hockey jerseys.
Nishikori now leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head history at 5-2.
Nishikori vs. Raonic: 2015 Meetings
| Event | Surface | Round | Winner | Score |
| Brisbane | Hard | SF | Raonic | 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 7-6(4) |
| Davis Cup | Hard | RR | Nishikori | 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 |
Nishikori vs. Raonic FedEx ATP Head2Head
HERNING, Denmark – Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki met the Danish press on Wednesday ahead of their exhibition clash – the Energi Denmark Champions Battle 2015 – which is set for Thursday.
“I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time,” Wozniacki said. “It’s been three years since I played my last match in Denmark, and playing my good friend Serena here is a dream come true.”
“I’ve been looking forward to visiting Herning again,” Williams commented. “I had such a great time playing here last year, so when I had the chance to come here with Caroline I said yes right away.”
Williams played the Energi Denmark Champions Battle last year too, against another former No.1.
The two have been BFFs on the tour for years – and the relationship could keep going for years.
“We’ve been joking that I’ll follow Caroline around the tour when I finish playing myself,” Williams said at Wednesday’s press conference, smiling. “Being in the box, maybe even coaching Caroline!”
On Thursday they’ll play for a Shamballa bracelet worth 100,000 Danish krones (just over $14,000).
There will be a men’s doubles match to begin the night – Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, the No.1-ranked team in the world, will face former Wimbledon champions Frederik Nielsen and Jonathan Marray.
The event will take place at the Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning – click here for tickets.
And here are a bunch of pics from Williams and Wozniacki’s media day, courtesy of Claus Frederiksen:
