Vote: February's WTA Shot Of The Month
Kristina Mladenovic, Caroline Wozniacki, Karolina Pliskova, Angelique Kerber, Daria Kasatkina – who will win February’s WTA Shot Of The Month presented by Cambridge Global Payments? Vote now!
Kristina Mladenovic, Caroline Wozniacki, Karolina Pliskova, Angelique Kerber, Daria Kasatkina – who will win February’s WTA Shot Of The Month presented by Cambridge Global Payments? Vote now!
How did Agnieszka Radwanska, Petra Kvitova and Eugenie Bouchard feel about glamming up for the Shenzhen Open player party? See highlights from the big night here.
BRISBANE, Australia – Just days into the new season and they’ve already hit another milestone – Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza won their 25th match in a row at the Brisbane International on Friday.
Watch live action from Brisbane, Shenzhen & Auckland on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Hingis and Mirza, the No.1-ranked team in the world and top seeds at the Premier-level tournament, faced some resistance – Andreja Klepac and Alla Kudryavtseva, the No.4 seeds, jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and, after dropping the first set, were a game away from winning the second set up 5-4.
But Hingis and Mirza did all the right things at all the right times and closed it out, 6-3, 7-5.
“I think we’re off to a great start in the new season,” Hingis said. “We never really felt like we finished in 2015 – I played the Indian league and Sania played IPTL, so we still kind of kept our routine.
“We’re really happy to have the possibility to be in another final, and win another title.”
Hingis and Mirza’s 25-match winning streak, which has brought them five titles in a row at the US Open, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Beijing and the WTA Finals, is the longest winning streak since Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci’s 25 in a row in 2012 – the Italians also won five titles in a row, at Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, the French Open and ‘s-Hertogenbosch (the winning streak was snapped at Wimbledon).
“It’s been a long time since we’ve lost, but it’s never easy to start a new season, especially when you’re coming off such a great season. Everyone’s gunning for us – we’re the hunted,” Mirza commented.
“We’re just taking it one match at a time, staying positive, and picking up from where we left off.”
To find the last doubles team to win more than 25 matches in a row you have to go all the way back to the 1994 season, when Gigi Fernández and Natasha Zvereva rattled off 28 victories in a row.
The other semifinal, which took place later in the day, saw German wildcards Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic take out Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja, 2-6, 6-3, 10-2.
Hingis and Mirza will face the all-German team for the first time in the final Saturday night.
.@MHingis & @MirzaSania extend winning streak to 25 matches–> https://t.co/gW3guYjfnJ #WTA pic.twitter.com/SkIb8MUNVr
— WTA (@WTA) January 8, 2016
Daria Gavrilova’s Australia Green brought home the Hopman Cup title, sweeping Ukraine and ending the country’s 17-year wait for the trophy.
The newly-minted Australian – who last year was voted WTA Newcomer Of The Year – won the hearts of the exuberant home crowd with her gutsy performance against Elina Svitolina in the final. After winning the first set 6-4, Gavrilova found herself trailing behind 6-1 in the second-set tiebreak.
She went on to win seven straight points to secure the victory.
“I just literally told myself to settle down, just stop thinking of everything,” Gavrilova said after the win. “Just think about how to win every point.
“I just played free.”
Gavrilova’s Australia Green partner Nick Kyrgios went on to secure the title in the mixed-team event, beating Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 6-4 in the men’s singles rubber.
Though the Hopman Cup is Gavrilova’s first trophy for Australia, she’s earned herself another accolade, a rite of passage for every Australian athlete: an Aussie nickname. The crowd calls her “Dash” – a play on “Dasha,” the Russian nickname for “Daria,” and also a nod to the 21-year-old’s aggressive and unrelenting style of play.
“It means so much,” Gavrilova said of playing in the Hopman Cup.
“It’s just amazing that I got to represent Australia here.”
Thank you everyone for supporting us once again! Big thanks to @TennisAustralia ? @NickKyrgios you were amazing, thank you!
— Daria Gavrilova (@Daria_gav) January 9, 2016
Kristina Mladenovic was one of the best players yet to win a WTA title. The French star had already taken home major titles in women’s and mixed doubles, but success on the singles court eluded her – that is, until she arrived at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Mladenovic roared through the draw in Russia, ousting Australian Open finalist Venus Williams and defending champion Roberta Vinci en route to the final, where she hit a stunning 62 winners to survive an inspired Yulia Putintseva in what will likely go down as one of the best matches of the season.
“I feel just amazing,” she told WTA Insider in her Champions Corner interview. “That was my first title. I lost three finals before that, always playing well but had a better opponent. It’s also a Premier event, so it’s even more special.
“The wait was definitely worth it and if you asked me whether to change the past or something I would probably not because this tournament as a first title is absolutely insane. I’m not saying that because I won it, but I think the atmosphere, the show, the organization, it’s just an amazing event. It’s probably the best WTA event during the season, really. They’re treating us so well and everything is super nice. So to hold this trophy here and have it as my first title, for sure it’s going to stay forever in my best memories heart for my career and maybe more.”
Her breakthrough month continued at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where she stunned good friend and reigning Qatar Total Open winner Karolina Pliskova in the opening round, and ended on another high after reaching the final of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
“I’m really a hard worker. I guess all the players are on tour. It’s no secret that to achieve such a high level and get the results, you have to. I’m just very positive, working very hard every day, and having this fighting spirit it helps me to go through these tough moments.”
Looking to build on her career-high ranking of No.26, Mladenovic is your Breakthrough Player of the Month!
Final Results for February’s WTA Breakthrough Performance Of The Month
1. Kristina Mladenovic (56%)
2. Elina Svitolina (26%)
3. Ashleigh Barty (12%)
4. CiCi Bellis (6%)
2017 Breakthrough Performance Of The Month Winners
January: CoCo Vandeweghe
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
With the BNP Paribas Open underway in Indian Wells, players have been busy sharing their thoughts on social media – with Lucie Safarova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands leading the way.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Johanna Konta made a successful comeback from the left foot injury that kept her out of the Middle East Swing with a 6-4, 6-4 win over fellow Brit Heather Watson at the BNP Paribas Open.
“I think it’s definitely challenging to adapt to these conditions,” she said the air is a bit drier and the ball travels a bit quicker. When the wind picks up, that can also complicate things. But it’s a beautiful center court to play on, so I hope to extend my stay here as long as possible!”
.@JoKonta91 bossing it vs Watson! ? #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/7YFGlxyoOr
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2017
Konta had been forced to sit out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships due to what she described as an “irritated nerve” after a strong start to the season – winning her second career title at the Apia International Sydney and reaching a second straight Australian Open quarterfinal – and had to shake off the rust early on against Watson, who earned a hard-fought win over Nicole Gibbs earlier in the week.
“I think there is definitely an adjustment period,” she added in her post-match press conference. “I hadn’t played a tour match since the Australian Open and Fed Cup was about three weeks ago. It’s not that long of a time, but in terms of the tour, it’s a bit of time.
“I think there were definitely some moments there I will definitely try to get better and better at as the tournament goes on, and hopefully I will get more opportunities to get more and more match fit.”
.@JoKonta91 finds the line with the backhand pass! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/J6ED6J8b1P
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2017
The countrywoman recently paired up to lead Great Britain into Fed Cup’s World Group II Play-Offs in February, but were all business in the California desert on Friday, trading blows from the back of the court throughout the 94 minute affair.
That feeling when a net cord saves your opponent… again #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/7BZnsBDy6V
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2017
“We get along great off court. We actually recently spent quite a bit of time together because of Fed Cup. We had a great Fed Cup in Estonia. We had a little bit great experiences quite recently together.
“I think both of us went with the intention of giving our best and trying to do what we can to come through in the end. I was fortunate enough to come out on top today.”
The typically aggressive Konta maintained a fairly clean stat sheet – 20 winners to 21 unforced errors – and held on for a tense ending after Watson threatened to come back from 5-1 in the second set.
Up next for the British No.1 is No.21 seed Caroline Garcia, who ende the run of lucky loser Evgeniya Rodina, 6-3, 6-3.
.@JoKonta91 is first through to @BNPPARIBASOPEN Third round!
Defeats Watson 6-4, 6-4! pic.twitter.com/qVWsMqWDys
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2017
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Karolina Pliskova brought her signature dry wit to a late night chat after a dramatic win over Monica Puig at the BNP Paribas Open.
No.9 seeded American Madison Keys sealed the perfect comeback to action with a hard-fought straight-sets victory over Mariana Duque-Mariño at the BNP Paribas Open.
FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil – Top seed Jelena Jankovic was sent crashing out of the Brasil Tennis Cup at the hands of Romania’s Ana Bogdan in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5.
Watch live action from Florianopolis this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Jankovic struggled as much with the conditions in southern Brazil as she did against her No.127 ranked opponent.
“It was a tough match overall. It’s completely different conditions here playing in the evening,” she said. “The ball moved so slow – it didn’t go anywhere. I hit as hard as I could, it wouldn’t take spin, nothing.
“The conditions didn’t really suit my game. It was better for Bogdan, and she won.”
Both players’ discomfort with the heavy conditions was evident in the 12 breaks of serve throughout the course of the hour and a half match. In fact, Bogdan was the only one to manage to hold in the opening set, doing so twice to put herself firmly ahead in the score.
Jankovic was able to impose her game more in the second set, and broke Bogdan’s serve three times to climb to a 5-4 lead and bring up three set points. The Romanian denied her the chance to even the scoreboard and broke right back.
“I just wanted to continue playing and not think about the score or anything else,” Bogdan said of the nerve-wracking moment. “Sometimes you get really nervous and you can’t control your emotions. I knew who she was and what a great champion she was, but I just tried not to think about that. I just kept going and believed in myself.”
Bodgan powered through to take the next two games and book a spot in her second WTA quarterfinal of her career.
“It’s definitely one of the greatest victories I’ve had until now,” Bodgan said. “I can’t compare it to any other match I’ve played.”
Bogdan will face Tereza Martincova in the next round. The Czech came away the winner in her match against lucky loser Lyudmyla Kichenok, the author of last round’s big upset of defending champion Teliana Pereira.
No.3 seed Monica Puig had a more straightforward road to the quarterfinals after defeating Olga Savchuk 6-0, 6-4.
After being completely shut out in the first set, Savchuk came out swinging in the second, playing more aggressively and hitting more winners. The change of tactic wasn’t enough to breakthrough against the Puerto Rican’s solid hitting, and Puig earned the decisive break in the ninth game to take the match after barely past an hour.
“It’s nice to be back here in Latin America where I have my roots,” Puig said after the match. “It feels very nice to be representing as the No.1 Latin American player. There’s always a lot of pride and responsibility on my shoulders, but I like it.”
Up next for Puig is the No.8 seed Naomi Osaka, a familiar face for her as the two have been practicing together earlier in the week.
“She definitely hits the ball very hard and has a big serve,” she said. “I’ll just focus on my game and do what I need to do put her in trouble, but I have a lot of respect for her of course.”
Also into the quarterfinals is No.4 seed Jelena Ostapenko who is set to take on No.6 seed Timea Babos. Ostapenko comfortably dispatched Argentina’s Catalina Pella 6-2, 6-3, while Babos came through after a commanding win over Alizé Lim, dropping just one game in the 6-0, 6-1 romp.
No.2 seed Irina-Camelia Begu dashed the last of the Brazilian hopes for a home champion as she defeated Paula Cristina Goncalves in straight sets. Goncalves was one of five Brazilians in the draw and the only one to advance past the first round, but she couldn’t move on against Begu, who downed her 6-1, 6-2. She’ll play No.7 seeded Nao Hibino next after the Japanese player edged Veronica Cepede Royg 6-3, 7-6(6).