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Insider Podcast: Q&A With Anne

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

LONDON, Great Britain – Anne Keothavong has seen it all as a pro, and now calls the shots from the sidelines as a BT Sport commentator. WTA Insider goes in depth with the former British No.1 live on the grounds of the All England Club in a no-holds-barred chat on the latest episode of the WTA Insider Podcast.

Check out some of the highlights:

On the “unique” challenge of being a British tennis player:
The media are brutal, my goodness! For all the British players, obviously, you want to do well here at Wimbledon more than any other place in the world. You want to show people what you can do, how well you can play, because here is where British players receive the most exposure. Everyone’s aware of that. It’s tough. Obviously there’s a mixture of excitement and nerves.

For me, personally, playing on grass – which was never my favorite surface to play on – was always a tough experience in some ways. When Wimbledon was over, I was relieved more than anything. I thought, ‘Oh well, that’s all over for another twelve months. Okay, lots of nice things were said about me, and lots of horrible things. Probably more horrible things were written about me!’ But you learn to let it go.

On taking on a commentator role at BT Sport:
I guess it was all kinda planned out. I knew, looking ahead, I was kind of planning my future. I knew tennis wasn’t going to be forever.My ranking had dropped as I struggled with injuries.

My last year or two on the tour, I was trying to gain experience wherever possible whether that was here at Wimbledon or at other tournaments. Or just offering to chip in and help whenever anyone needed it, whether it was commentary or in the studio or just hanging out behind the scenes.

I’m very fortunate that when I retired there was something for me to move into immediately. I didn’t receive any specific training – I don’t think anyone really receives any training. They throw you in! I feel like I’ve still got lots to learn, but they haven’t fired me yet so I guess I’m going okay.

It’s nice to feel like you’re still part of the tour without directly being involved. I can take a bit more of a backseat and enjoy it more.

Players who impress her the most:
This year I’ve been really impressed by Daria Kasatkina. She’s fun to watch. She plays with variety and it’s always easier to commentate on someone who plays with variety as well. I really think she has a bright future ahead of her.

And obviously the British players. I try not to be too biased in my commentary, but I want to see the British players do well!

On the rise of Johanna Konta:
It’s incredible. I’ve spoken to Jo herself and her parents and her coach, and I’d be the first to admit to you that I did not see that coming. I would have never thought we’d have Johanna Konta as a Top 20 player.

To do what she’s done over the past 12 months has been incredible. Thinking back to Eastbourne last year when she was ranked No.140-something to this year being a semifinalist and now seeded at Wimbledon, it’s just been fantastic to see and to follow. I always shake my head in disbelief when I see her score another big win. Last night was tough [against Eugenie Bouchard] but she’s headed in the right direction. She’s got a great game.

I used to practice with her all the time in the National Tennis Centre at Roehampton – it’s a completely different person. There’s certain areas of her game that used to crack under pressure, even in practice, but now they hold up so well in terms of the belief she has in her game.

In some ways, I wish I had her coach and her strength when I played.

On on-court coaching timeouts:
Daren Cahill and Nick Saviano are two of my favorites to listen to when they come on for on-court coaching. I feel like I’m listening to [Darren’s] coaching and I’m learning something and think, ‘Oh ok, that’s interesting!’

It’s always weird to see Nigel Sears come on for Ana [Ivanovic], because I think – and I hope he and she don’t mind me saying – she frets a lot. And just knowing Nige, I find it quite amusing some of the things he says to try to keep her calm.

I don’t understand what Dominika Cibulkova says with her coach [Matej Liptak], but they always seem to have a good relationship.

What I really dislike about it is when a coach comes on and reels off a number of things for a player to do without asking the player for her opinion. Just says all these things at a hundred miles an hour. It should be a two-way conversation. I understand some players don’t want to say anything and would just like to listen to their coach, but I do think there’s a certain way of delivering a message which I think would be more productive for the player and looks better on TV.

 

 

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on any podcast app of your choice and reviews are always helpful, so if you like what you’ve heard so far, leave us one. You can also get new episode alerts by following us on Twitter @WTA_Insider.

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MONTERREY, Mexico – Top seed and World No.1 Angelique Kerber reached her fourth quarterfinal of 2017 on Thursday, closing out the night session and a big-hitting Mandy Minella, 6-1, 6-3 at the Abierto GNP Seguros.

“It was a good match from me,” she said after the match. “I played very well, and was able to play aggressively from the first point. I enjoyed the match tonight.”

Minella has enjoyed a stellar start to the season, reaching the semifinals at the Taiwan Open and earning an impressive win over Kristyna Pliskova at the Miami Open, but came up against a firing Kerber in Monterrey.

The German dropped just three points behind her first serve and didn’t face a break point all match, converting four of the eight she earned on the reigning Bol Open winner.

Angelique Kerber

Kerber has slowly recovered from a tough first quarter, reaching the semifinals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and the quarterfinals in Miami, and is still looking for her first title of the year.

Up next for World No.1 is defending champion Heather Watson, who enjoyed a strong win over Ekaterina Makarova, 6-4, 6-1, earlier in the day.

“I think it’ll be a good match; she won here last year and is the defending champion, so she knows the court and venue.

“I think I’ll have to play like today, play my game. I’m looking forward to playing against her.”

All photos courtesy of Abierto GNP Seguros.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

CHARLESTON, SC, USA – If Caroline Wozniacki scores just one more victory at the Volvo Car Open and defeats World No.66 Jelena Ostapenko, she’ll be rewarded with more than just a spot in the Charleston semifinals: she’ll be projected to break back into the Top 10 when the new WTA rankings come out, a happy ending to what has been an absolute rollercoaster last few years.

Wozniacki got her first taste of the Top 10 back in 2009, and has been a mainstay at the top of the rankings for the majority of her career – including a stint at World No.1, a ranking she held for 67 weeks.

In fact, from 2009 to 2014 she finished each year inside the Top 10, and her six year run had been the WTA’s longest active streak.  

But a struggle with injuries and recovery derailed the Dane’s progress, causing her ranking to plummet to as low as No.74 during the 2016 US Open.

It was during that US Open fortnight that Wozniacki’s comeback came together; she entered the tournament unseeded and went on to reach the semifinals, knocking out the likes of Svetlana Kuznetsova and Madison Keys along the way.

Once she got going, Wozniacki never looked back, and in the 14 events since her ranking dipped to No.74, she’s put together a stunning run which includes titles at the 2016 Toray Pan Pacific Open and the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, runner-up finishes at the 2017 Qatar Total Open, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and Miami Open, and a semifinal finish at the US Open.

She’s reached the quarterfinals or better at 11 of her last 14 events and now, by virtue of her incredible consistency, Wozniacki sits one win away from a return to her beloved Top 10 – the first time she’ll be there since September 21, 2015.

It won’t be easy with Latvian teenager Ostapenko standing in her way; Wozniacki lost in straight sets the only previous match they’ve played at last year’s Connecticut Open. And due to extreme weather conditions in Charleston, Wozniacki found herself having to double up and play two matches on the same day to reach the quarterfinals.

“I think I’m well-prepared for tomorrow,” Wozniacki said after her win against Anastasia Rodionova. “I got some clay tennis in today and feel like I’m just going to go out there and have fun and do my best and see how it goes.

“I’m just playing right now. I had one practice session before the tournament started for me, and that was it. I just kind of run on experience and try and figure it out.”

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

CHARLESTON, SC, USA – 19-year-old Jelena Ostapenko stunned No.11 seed Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in three sets to reach the final at the Volvo Car Open, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

With the victory Ostapenko is through to her third career final – and her first on clay – where he’ll face fellow-19-year-old Daria Kasatkina.

“It’s really nice to be in the third final, but first final on clay court, and especially here in Charleston,” Ostapenko told press after the match. “I’m really looking forward for tomorrow’s match.

“[Daria] kind of defensive player, and I think clay is her favorite surface, but I’m just going to try to stay consistent and be aggressive at the same time and just play my game.”

Just one point made the difference between Ostapenko and Lucic-Baroni during the tense, two-hour-and-seven-minute encounter. The Latvian employed her aggressive, fearless tennis against Lucic-Baroni, changing the direction in the ball and keeping her opponent on the run with her heavy groundstrokes.

Ostapenko was serving for the match at 5-4 in the second, but Lucic-Baroni had other ideas and the Croat put together a mammoth struggle to deny Ostapenko and break her serve.

She unleashed a barrage of winners against the Latvian, who had no response as Lucic-Baroni grabbed the next two games to take the match into a decider. But Ostapenko tamped down her nerves in the third and found her calm to make her way into her first final of 2017.

“I actually was quite emotional in the second set when I was 5-3 up and I couldn’t finish the set, but she liked when I was emotional,” Ostapenko admitted. “It kind of gave her confidence till then.

“In the third set I was just trying to be calm because I think it was tougher for her because I didn’t show any emotions, and it helped me, so I won the third set.”

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Twitter Sings Serena’s Praises

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

LONDON, Great Britain – All the tennis world was watching as Serena Williams claimed her seventh Wimbledon title to tie Steffi Graf’s all-time record of 22 major titles. So when Serena sealed historic achievement on Centre Court, her rivals and peers were quick to take to Twitter to congratulate the World No.1.

Check out all the best tweets below!

 

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Sharapova Appeal Ruling Postponed

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

LAUSANNE, Switzerland – The Court of Arbitration for Sport announced Monday that a ruling on Maria Sharapova’s appeal of her two-year suspension for a failed drug test has been postponed.

Both parties had agreed to an expedited track for the appeal case, which would have seen a decision issued no later than July 18, 2016. Now, the Associated Press reports that CAS and the International Tennis Federation have agreed to defer the decision for another two months.

According to a statement from CAS, “Due to the parties requiring additional time to complete and respond to their respective evidentiary submissions, and several scheduling conflicts, the parties have agreed not to expedite the appeal.”

A ruling is expected no later than September 19, 2016.

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