Stanford: Konta vs. Zheng
Johanna Konta takes on Zheng Saisai in the quarterfinals of the Bank of the West Classic.
Johanna Konta takes on Zheng Saisai in the quarterfinals of the Bank of the West Classic.
An interview with Dominika Cibulkova after her win in the first round of the Brisbane International.
An interview with Venus Williams after her semifinal win at the Bank of the West Classic.
BOGOTA, Colombia – Italian veteran Francesca Schiavone needed barely over an hour to take down top seed Kiki Bertens and book her place in the Claro Open Colsanitas semifinals, 6-1, 6-4.
The 36-year-old Italian, who is playing in her last season of professional tennis after announcing her retirement plans earlier in the year, will cap off her final trip to Bogota with her first semifinal appearance at the tournament – and her first semifinal of 2017.
.@Schiavone_Fra breezes through the opening set vs Bertens 6-1! pic.twitter.com/2I1ny6kz6r
— WTA (@WTA) 13 de abril de 2017
The semifinals seemed a long way off for Schiavone in the opening set, however, as she started off sluggish and struggled physically with lingering shoulder pains as she dropped her opening service game.
But the former French Open champion drew on all her experience to put it out of her mind and steamroll past a flat Bertens, who was playing her second match of the day after defeating fellow Dutch qualifier Cindy Burger in their rain delayed second round encounter.
Bertens’ normally powerful groundstrokes were missing their bite as she sprayed unforced errors and double faults to keep Schiavone in the match, dropping serve three times as the Italian snatched up six games in a row to comfortably wrap up the opening set.
.@Schiavone_Fra reaches @CopaWTABogota Semifinals!
Beats Bertens 6-1, 6-4! pic.twitter.com/ClrNY8T1WS
— WTA (@WTA) 13 de abril de 2017
The top seed put up a better fight in the second, finding her first serves to keep pace with Schiavone before the Italian came away with the crucial break early on to go up 2-1. Bertens was never able to get it back or put any pressure on the Schiavone serve as they stayed on serve to send the Italian through to her first semifinal of the year.
It won’t get any easier for Schiavone in the next round as she looks to reach her 19th career singles final; up next is the highest seed left in the draw, No.3 seed Johanna Larsson.
Larsson fought past a determined Sara Errani in a tight straights sets encounter to advance 7-5, 6-4 and take the final spot in the Claro Open Colsanitas semifinals.
More to follow…
BRISBANE, Australia – Simona Halep met the press at All Access Hour at the Brisbane International on Monday, and one of the hot topics was her potential opening match against Victoria Azarenka.
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A few hours later, Azarenka turned potential into reality with an impressive win over Elena Vesnina.
“It’s very tough,” Halep told reporters. “I think it will be a nice match. It will be very hard. It will be a big challenge for me. I played against her at the US Open, so I’m looking forward to playing against her again in Brisbane to see how well I can play in that match, in my first match of the new year.
“I’m looking forward to starting this year. I know it won’t be easy, though, because the first match of the year is always difficult mentally as well as physically, and I haven’t played since Singapore.”
That US Open match, a quarterfinal, was one of the matches of the tournament, with both WTA stars littering the stats sheet with winners – Halep finished with a beefy 40 winners to 19 unforced errors.
The Romanian eventually rallied from 2-0 in the third set to edge the Belarusian, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
“I remember that the rain helped me – I cannot forget that,” Halep recalled, referring to a rain delay as she served at 1-2, 40-15 in the third set. “It was a good point that the rain came and we stopped the match, because I was getting too nervous in the third set and I couldn’t manage the emotions.
“But she’s very strong. She’s hitting the ball strong. And she doesn’t give up. I have some good experience against her. She beat me in the past, and I beat her, so it’s good timing to play again.
“I need strong matches and strong opponents to be ready for the Grand Slams.”
Speaking of strong opponents, Halep was also asked about her chief rival – Serena Williams – who is competing in Hopman Cup this week. The World No.1 had to withdraw from her first match, however.
“I didn’t know she withdrew,” Halep said. “But, you know, she’s strong. I know that she can come and play good tennis as always. She’s prepared for that. She has the experience and knows how to manage all the situations. She’s the best player in the world. I just have to relax when I play her.
“But I believe players from the Top 10 can beat her. Many players are playing really good tennis right now. Muguruza as well, and I think I can say Bouchard will come back because she has the game, and she knows how to play in the top, because she was there. So it will be an interesting year, I think.”
Halep and Azarenka are scheduled to play their second round match in Brisbane on Wednesday.
Azarenka leads Halep in their overall head-to-head, 2-1, and is looking forward to the duel too.
“I think it’s going to be a very good test for me,” the former World No.1 said. “In general playing against top players, you always put yourself in a situation where you have got to push yourself.
“To be the best you’ve got to beat the best, so I’m looking forward to that match.”
Johanna Konta has Saturday’s shot of the day at the Bank of the West Classic.
BOGOTA, Colombia – 2012 champion Lara Arruabarrena battled back from the brink in a three-set rollercoaster against fellow Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to return to the final at the Claro Open Colsanitas.
“I’m so happy to be back into the final here in Bogota,” Arruabarrena told press after the match. “Sara and I know each other very well, we even shared a room at Indian Wells, Miami and here in Bogota we’ve been sharing a room. We’re really good friends, which made this match even more complicated emotionally.
“Last night we talked about it and we told each other, ‘Listen, it’s just another match. We’ll go on court and be enemies during the match, but as soon as it’s over we forget all about it and put it behind us.'”
Both players came into the all-Spanish semifinal after advancing in marathon quarterfinal battles, each needing three sets and almost three hours to move on. But Arruabarrena spent nearly three hours longer on court as she played an additional two doubles matches after rain delays earlier in the week wreaked havoc on the tournament schedule.
Incredible rally from both @LaraArrua and @Sara_Sorribes! ? ? pic.twitter.com/PfaHJ4369p
— WTA (@WTA) 14 de abril de 2017
It didn’t look like Arruabarrena felt tired at all after snatching away the opening set after three breaks to a nervy Sorribes Tormo. The 20-year-old was looking for her first WTA final after breaking new ground in Bogota, but double faults plagued her game throughout the match (she would hit 12 in total).
Sorribes Tormo picked up steam in the second, though, as Arruabarrena’s serve abandoned her as well and the pair six straight breaks. They kept toe-to-toe until Sorribes Tormo roared ahead to take the late break and send the match into a decider.
With the momentum firmly on the younger Spaniard’s side, Arruabarrena saw herself slip behind in the score as Sorribes Tormo broke twice to open up a daunting 4-0 lead.
.@LaraArrua reels off SIX straight games!
Books a spot in @CopaWTABogota Final with 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win over Sorribes Tormo! pic.twitter.com/a2YW8KIGvO
— WTA (@WTA) 14 de abril de 2017
But with her back against the wall, Arruabarrena produced some of her best tennis of the tournament to get back both breaks, firing off forehand winners from every angle of the court. Sorribes Tormo’s service woes reared their head once again and her go-to shot, the backhand slice, broke down under Arruabarrena’s renewed assault.
Arruabarrena reeled off six games in a row to find her way back from the brink and see off her countrywoman, returning to the Bogota final after five years.
“I feel like I played the whole match well, despite starting a little nervy which is normal in a semifinal,” Arruabarrena explained. “I was able to impose my rhythm throughout, but Sara is such a fighter and she waits for her chances.
“When I was 0-4 down I just told myself, remember what you did in the first set. Stay aggressive, come up to the net more. I also knew all the pressure was on her, trying to reach her first final. I think the experience helped me in the end. I’m proud of my mental strength I showed, too.”
She awaits the winner between No.3 seed Johanna Larson and Francesca Schiavone.
An interview with Belinda Bencic after her first round win at the Brisbane International.
A preview of the Bank of the West Classic final between Venus Williams and Johanna Konta.
World No.1 Serena Williams was forced to cut short her first match of the season, retiring down a set at the US Hopman Cup match against Australia.