Tennis News

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – WTA Doubles Co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza maintained their perfect start to 2016 – and their still-unbroken winning-streak – in the final of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, winning their 40th straight match over Vera Dushevina and Barbora Krejcikova, 6-3, 6-1.

Dropping just one set through four more victories in Russia, “SanTina” are now within striking distance of surpassing the longest winning streak since 1990, when Jana Novotna and Helena Sukova won 44 in a row; the reigning Wimbledon, US Open, and Australian Open champions still have a way to go to break the ultimate record of 109 – held by Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver in 1983.

“We’re obviously very happy to win another title but now that we’re coming closer and closer to the next target of 44, we can’t help but think about,” Mirza said after the final. 

“But it’s not something we really want to think about; we’re really excited ot be at 40! We didn’t think in our wildest dreams that this was going to happen. I think I can speak on behalf of both of us that we’re going to play every match on merit and try to get to 44.”

Hingis and Mirza were the talk of the pressroom during their week in St. Petersburg, and though they’re trying not to look too far ahead, Mirza hopes to be back next year to defend their title.

“I definitely think it’s an amazing tournament, and I feel the hospitality made it so comfortable. I also think you should give them especially because it’s the first year of the tournament, and to put up such a tournament any year is never easy, so I’d love to come back.”

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan – Taiwan Open top seed Venus Williams survived a topsy-turvy opening set against the always-dangerous Misaki Doi to defeat the Japanesewoman, 6-4, 6-2, to win her 49th career title.

“I’ve had so much success in Asia,” Williams said after the match, having won her last two titles at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open and the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. “I feel like it’s very lucky to play here.”

The American appeared to have things under control from the outset, but Doi, who held a match point against eventual Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber in their Melbourne first round, rebounded in style to win four straight games and lead Williams by a break.

“My opponent was incredible today. I was leading in the first set and then suddenly she was leading!”

That proved to be the last major momentum swing, however, as the former No.1 swept the final three games to take the first set and drop just two more to win the final in just under 90 minutes.

“It’s fun to win a final that was such a challenge, and I appreciated her game.”

Williams didn’t lose a set through five matches in Kaohsiung, and will hold on to her current ranking of No.11 by virtue of winning the title. A fan favorite in Taiwan, she was happy to be celebrating Valentine’s Day at a tournament where she could truly feel the love.

“Of course, I celebrated Valentine’s Day with a win; that’s the best way! I made so many wonderful moments and memories that I’ll be bringing a lot of love back with me to the States.

“The last five days were so exciting, just to feel the enthusiasm and to play great tennis every day. It was perfect week for me and the tournament did an amazing job with everything; the players and fans felt so welcome, so it was perfect.”

Doi had come into the match hoping to win her second career titles – having won her first last fall at the BGL BNP Luxembourg Open – but nonetheless finds herself just outside the Top 50 thanks to her run in Taiwan.

In doubles, hometown favorites Chan Yung-Jan and Chan Hao-Ching won their first title of 2016, defeating Japanese duo Eri Hozumi and Miyu Kato, 6-4, 6-3. The Chan sisters roared into the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global last year as Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza’s closest competitors, and remain the last team to defeat Santina, who currently ride a 40-match winning streak – the longest since 1990 (Jana Novotna, Helena Sukova).

More to come…

Top seed at the St. Petersburg ladies Trophy, Belinda Bencic not only walked away with the runner-up trophy to 2015 US Open finalist Roberta Vinci, but the Swiss star became the 116th player in WTA history to make her Top 10 debut.

With her semifinal win over former junior rival and fellow ranking mover Daria Kasatkina, Bencic moved up to No.9 in the world less than three years after capturing back-to-back junior Grand Slam titles at the French Open and Wimbledon, and a little over two years after her WTA-level breakthrough at the 2014 US Open, where she upset former No.1 Jelena Jankovic to reach the quarterfinals.

With six different players made their Top 10 debut in 2015, Bencic is the first to do so this year, and the youngest by four years to join a club where the average age is 26.7.

Bencic is also the fifth Swiss woman to earn a Top 10 WTA Ranking, joining Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere, Martina Hingis, Patty Schnyder, and Timea Bacsinszky – who entered the Top 10 last fall. While Maleeva-Fragniere cracked the Top 10 in May 1984 while representing Bulgaria; she later changed nationalities in 1990 when she was also ranked in the Top 10.

In the last 20 years, 10 players have made their Top 10 debut before their 19th birthday:

Who else made great strides last week in St. Petersburg and Kaohsiung?

Daria Kasatkina (+18, No.63 to No.45): Despite losing to Bencic in the semifinals, the 2014 French Open junior champion continues her stellar start 2016, taking out Kirsten Flipkens and Dominika Cibulkova to break the Top 50 for the first time in her young career.

Hsieh Su-Wei (+16, No.81 to No.65): The two-time doubles Grand Slam champion and former World No.23 in singles had an impressive week at the Taiwan Open, reaching the semifinals and losing to eventual champion Misaki Doi.

Laura Siegemund (+10, No.87 to No.77): Out to prove her run to the third round of the Australian Open was no fluke, the German veterean pulled off a dramatic upset over Kristina Mladenovic to reach the round of 16 in St. Petersburg as a lucky loser.

Misaki Doi (+9, No. 61 to No.52): The woman that nearly derailed eventual Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber in the first round, Doi reached the final in Taiwan, pushing Venus Williams in a hard-fought opening set en route to a career-high ranking.

Anastasija Sevastova (+8, No.103 to No.95): The comeback continues for the former World No.36, who returned to tennis at the start of 2015 after nearly two years away; Sevastova returns to the Top 100 for the first time since January of 2012.

DUBAI, UAE – Romania’s recent Fed Cup defeat to the Czech Republic was a bittersweet experience for Simona Halep.

Halep and company went into the tie – their first in World Group I since 1992 – as overwhelming underdogs against the defending champions, only to defy expectations and force a deciding fifth rubber. While this ultimately proved a bridge too far, Halep’s disappointment was tempered by the relief of being able to compete pain-free once again.

This prompted a sudden change in schedule for the World No.3, who had planned to take February and March off to undergo surgery to tackle an ongoing sinus infection. Instead of sitting out her defense of this week’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Halep accepted a late wildcard to take up a place in the draw. 

“I delayed it because I feel okay now. I got good treatment at home and now I feel that I’m able to play, so I’ve put it off until the end of the year, maybe – I’m not sure exactly when,” Halep said during her All Access Hour in Dubai. “But now I feel good and I want to just keep playing.

“Actually I decided to delay the operation before Fed Cup; I really wanted to play in my country, for my country. So this helped me a lot to get some confidence. I had some good matches and thought that I feel good here [in Dubai] and would play some matches.”

It has been a stuttering start to the campaign for Halep, whose preparations were dealt a couple of body blows: “It started in the beginning of December. I was practicing but it wasn’t easy for me because I got tired very often and very fast. After that I had a stomach infection and I had to take some days off.

“It was tough, I came to Australia still taking antibiotics and it was tough for me to start playing tournaments. Then I had the Achilles injury and then before Melbourne, in Sydney, I got infection of my nose and ear. So it was tough to play, it was tough to stay there focused.”

Despite suffering a couple of surprise losses Down Under – against Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Sydney semifinals, then to World No.133 Zhang Shuai at the Australian Open – the 24-year-old is refusing to let hindsight cloud her thoughts. 

“Yes maybe it would’ve been better if I didn’t go to the first tournaments because I had the stomach infection but I thought it was going to be easy. But the jet-lag and everything was tough for me to adapt, it was tough to play,” she added.

“But I don’t want to regret anything and now I’m just keeping an eye on my health more and on enjoying playing.”

Unsurprisingly, given her run to the title 12 months ago and victory in neighboring Doha in 2014, Halep has fond memories of this time of year.

“I’m happy to be back here. It means a lot this tournament because last year I won it. I have great memories from that time – many fans are coming to support me here.

“So I’m looking forward to starting the tournament and that I’m able to play.”

DUBAI, UAE – Ana Ivanovic fired a warning shot to the rest the draw at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday, dismantling Daria Gavrilova in under an hour.

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After a difficult start to the year, Ivanovic showed signs of recovery during a run to the semifinals in St. Petersburg, and carried on from where she left off against Gavrilova.

Ivanovic utilized the fast conditions to devastating effect, 19 winners (offset by just 16 unforced errors) helping her to a 6-1, 6-0 victory.

In their previous meeting, last year in Rome, Gavrilova had prevailed in a rollercoaster, but it was clear early on that the rematch would be rather more brief.

A string of unforced errors, culminating in a double fault, saw Gavrilova surrender serve in the second game. While she broke back immediately, the Australian was powerless in the face of Ivanovic’s onslaught.

The former World No.1 struck early in the second set, too, a couple of sweetly timed backhands bringing a break in the first game. With the forehand, usually the barometer for the Serb’s game, also firing on all cylinders, from here a comeback never looked on the cards.

“We played once before and it was a battle on clay, so I knew it was a tough match and I had to step up because I knew she’s a great mover and she strikes the ball really well,” Ivanovic said.

“Here the ball flies a little bit, so I tried to use that to my advantage and move forward a little bit. And I did that very well and was very aggressive on my returns, so overall I’m very happy.”

Her reward is a meeting with defending champion and top seed Simona Halep, an opponent Ivanovic is excited to pit her improving game against.

“Yeah, definitely. You want to play against the best and challenge yourself. We’ve had battles in the past but it’s going to be a tough one.”

Other winners in the afternoon session were Elina Svitolina and Barbora Strycova. In her first match since announcing the addition to Justine Henin to her coaching team, Svitolina was in fine form during a 6-3, 6-1 victory over qualifier Jana Cepelova. The Ukrainian faces No.2 seed Garbiñe Muguruza in the second round.

Strycova was pushed slightly harder, eventually seeing off Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-4, 6-3, to set up a clash with Julia Goerges.