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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MIAMI, FL, USA – No.7 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova overcame a slow start and an inspired Taylor Townsend to beat the American qualifier, 6-4, 6-2, joining No.10 seed Johanna Konta, who beat Pauline Parmentier, 6-4, 6-0 in the fourth round of the Miami Open.

Townsend has long been a talented prospect, having won the 2013 Australian Open junior title and finishing runner-up to Belinda Bencic at that year’s Wimbledon Championships. Qualifying for the main draw and upsetting Roberta Vinci in her previous match, the American looked on course for another upset as she took the first break from Kuznetsova in the opening set.

“I’d never played her before, but still, to face her it’s a bit different,” she told WTA Insider after the match. “It took me time to adjust to her game. I got broken right away, and I was serving against the sun, so it was a little bit difficult.”

But Kuznetsova is in good form herself, reaching the final at last week’s BNP Paribas Open; relaxed and focused, the Russian took four straight games to reclaim the break and the opening set from Townsend, who put up quite a fight in the final game before dropping serve.

“She plays good tennis, different than other girls. I took time to adjust, changed my strategy, and in the end it worked pretty well. But she’s very talented.”

The 2006 champion and 2016 finalist raced ahead to start the second and never looked back, despite some impressive variety from the 20-year-old.

Up next for Kuznetsova is either former No.1 Venus Williams or qualifier Patricia Maria Tig, who stunned No.22 seed and Top 20 debutante Kristina Mladenovic in the preceding round.

“It’s a great match-up, and it’s great to play Venus again, one more time. We’re both having great results, so I’m looking forward to that match.”

Earlier in the day, Konta worked through a tense opening set to roll through against Parmentier.

“I’m happy to have come through that,” Konta said after the match. “Although the scoreline doesn’t show it in the second set, I still had to work hard within every single point. I really tried hard not to take my foot off the gas and stay focused on what I wanted to achieve.”

The Frenchwoman has displayed impresisve tennis of late, and nearly beat World No.1 Angelique Kerber in Indian Wells.

“She’s been very strong with her forehand, and her serve is actually quite a big weapon, as well. I was quite happy with how I could neutralize it and look towards having good variety on my returns. I also made it difficult for her to find her spots on the forehand; I didn’t give her too many opportunities to set up, because when she does, she can be very tough to play.”

With 19 winners to just five unforced errors to advance, it was night and day for the British No.1 on Sunday after her tough opening round win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich, which went deep into a third set.

“The bonus of getting through any match is having the opportunity to play again. I have another opportunity to get better and to perform well.

“Those stats obviously look better on paper, and that’s good to hear. There’s other moving factors in a match, but I was still very happy I was able to stick with my plan and not divert from that in any way.

“Each match puts forward different challenges, so it’s hard to compare and decide which has been my best performance. My first round was very good, for example, because I could get through a difficult situation. Today was a cleaner match, so in that sense, it was also a good performance.”

Standing between Konta and a second straight quarterfinal in Miami will be the winner of No.8 seed Madison Keys and Lara Arruabarrena.

“I played Madison in Beijing last year. I think I played Lara once before, but not for many years. We all know Madison has a big game, so if I end up playing her, I’ll be expecting to play someone with a lot of weight of shot. I haven’t watched Lara play too much, but she’s been around a while and won a title at the end of last year. She’s a tough player, so either way it’ll be a tough match.”

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MIAMI, FL, USA – No.3 seed Simona Halep barreled into the fourth round of the Miami Open, conquering Estonian qualifier Anett Kontaveit, 6-3, 6-0.

“I think I played my best match of the year,” Halep told WTA Insider after the match. “I was confident, and knew what I had to do: push and make her run. I hit some winners, which was very good for me. I was moving well, so I think everything went pretty well for me tonight.”

The Romanian has been plagued by knee issues throughout the 2017 season, forced to pull out of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy and the Middle East Swing to heal the injury.

Coming into Miami, the former French Open finalist had yet to win back-to-back matches this year, but struck down that stat in decisive fashion on Sunday night, rolling past Kontaveit in 55 minutes.

“I felt good when I came to site, and was sure that it was going to come together because I work every day. At one point, it has to come.

“I felt the best that I have this year. I can move without pain or anything, and I’m confident, which is the most important thing.”

Kontaveit is a talented youngster in her own right, a former junior Slam finalist who knocked out No.32 seed Ekaterina Makarova en route to the third round, but had no answers to her opponent’s unstoppable form, her 17 winnes undone by 24 errors in total.

“My first match here was close,” she said of her opener against Naomi Osaka. “I had some trouble in the first match. After that, I saw that I could resist and stay strong. Today, everything was flowing. I didn’t plan anything, and I won’t plan anything else. I just want to go there and give my best.”

Incredibly aggressive under the lights, Halep struck 19 winners to just 13 unforced errors and broke serve five times to book a round of 16 match-up with 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur.

“It’s going to be a tough match, for sure. I know how I have to play, because she’s very dangerous. Her forehand is strong, and so is her serve. I’m here to do my job, and to try to win because that’s what I want.

“Nothing special. I just expect a tough one and I’ll go there to fight.”

Halep and Stosur last played at Roland Garros 10 months ago, when the Aussie won on a wet and rainy day in Paris, locking up their head-to-head at four wins apiece.

The former World No.2 has won their last four hardcourt matches, though two of those three required a third set. But Halep might have a secret weapon.

“Something is waiting for me already, a Nutella crepe. I’ve eaten one every day, and maybe that’s why I’m winning!”

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Radwanska One Win Away From Singapore

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

BEIJING, China – World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska defeated the tricky Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets to advance to the third round of the China Open and put herself in pole position to qualify for the WTA Finals.

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Makarova did well to avoid the first set shutout – she was down 5-0 when she finally got on the scoreboard and began to mount a comeback – but Radwanska powered through 6-3, 6-4 after just over an hour an thirty minutes on court.

Everything seemed to be going Radwanska’s way at the China National Tennis Center on Monday night. Despite facing fierce resistance from the Russian in the second set, Radwanska struck 20 winners and just eight unforced errors against Makarova’s 25 winners and 31 unforced errors. She also served at 52 percent and fired five aces.

With the victory Radwanska edges even closer to qualifying for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. In fact, she’s one win away from a spot in the season-ending event, but she could still qualify without lifting a racquet if both Johanna Konta and Svetlana Kuznetsova lose in the second round.

“I just hope I can [qualify] here, that’s for sure,” Radwanska said after her win last round. “But, well, I had the situation last year when I had to win the Tianjin Open to qualify for Singapore, and I did it. Of course, it was last-minute qualifying.

“I will try everything to qualify a bit before that this year. Everything is open. This is a big event. Everybody can do a lot of points here.”

That doesn’t mean Radwanska’s in the clear just yet – standing between her and a ticket to Singapore is the winner between giant-killer Roberta Vinci and familiar rival Caroline Wozniacki. It would be the third meeting in as many weeks for Wozniacki and Radwanska, with the pair splitting their previous encounters and Tokyo and Wuhan.

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Beijing Tuesday: Kvitova & Halep Start

Beijing Tuesday: Kvitova & Halep Start

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Wuhan champion Petra Kvitova opens her China Open account on Day 4, along with Simona Halep. Chris Oddo previews Tuesday’s key matchups in Beijing right here at wtatennis.com.

Tuesday

Second Round

[14] Petra Kvitova (CZE #11) vs. [Q] Wang Yafan (CHN # 143)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Kvitova has lost five times to players ranked outside of the Top 100 since July of 2013.

A few days after triumphantly bagging her second Wuhan title, No.14-seeded Petra Kvitova will look to keep the momentum rolling in Beijing in her second-round tilt with Chinese wild card Wang Yafan. Kvitova has won 20 of her last 25 matches, and she’s finally sustaining the type of consistency that can move her back into the Top 10. But the 26-year-old warns that it isn’t going to be easy for her to maintain the jaw-dropping level she hit in Wuhan. “I need this kind of consistency all year, which to be honest, I don’t think I can really do that,” Kvitova said after pummeling Dominika Cibulkova for her 18th career title on Saturday in Wuhan. “I’m probably the player who has up and downs. Of course, I am going to try to be better in the downs. But I don’t really think that I can be consistent all season. I’m just how I am probably, and I can’t really change it.” Kvitova may have to accept a certain amount of deviation in form due to her reliance on power and precision rather than margin, but she’s just happy to have turned her season around with some sparkling tennis over the last two months. “I’m happy that my ups, they are really high, which I love of course,” she said. “The downs are very low, but that’s how it is.” Will Kvitova stay high in Beijing and keep her hopes for a late run at a Singapore slot alive? Or will she fall prey to inconsistency against an unknown Chinese commodity? Wang, 22, has claimed seven ITF titles but has never broken into the Top 100 on tour. That said, she defeated Ana Konjuh to qualify for the main draw and knocked off World No.72 Madison Brengle in straight sets to reach the second round.

Pick: Kvitova in two

[4] Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL #56)
Head-to-head: Wickmayer leads, 3-1
Key Stat: Wickmayer has lost her last 16 sets against the Top 10.

Yanina Wickmayer takes a 3-1 lifetime record into her second-round battle with Simona Halep, but the Belgian earned each of those three wins more than three years ago, and Halep has become a vastly improved, elite player since then. Halep demonstrated her superiority over Wickmayer when they last met in 2015 at the Australian Open’s round of 16, defeating her in straight sets. It’s been a mixed back for Wickmayer since she claimed the Citi Open title in late July. Since then she’s lost six of eight and only recently regained her form. On Saturday Wickmayer blasted past Monica Puig, 6-2, 6-0, and she should be confident on the heels of that strong result. But Halep is fresh off a semifinal appearance at Wuhan and she has won 24 of her last 28 matches dating back to the first week of Wimbledon. Halep was handed a lopsided defeat by Petra Kvitova in the Wuhan semis, but the Romanian’s confidence hasn’t suffered because of it. “I played semis, the best result here in China,” she said last week. “I played good matches, good tennis. Even today I’m not negative. I cannot be. I played tough matches in the last months, and all were very, very good. So I’m okay.”

Pick: Halep in two

[13] Roberta Vinci (ITA #16) vs. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN #22)
Head-to-head: Wozniacki leads, 3-2
Key Stat: Wozniacki has won the last three hardcourt meetings against Vinci.

2010 Beijing champion Caroline Wozniacki has turned her season around in the span of a red-hot month. On Tuesday she’ll look to keep the good vibes rolling when she faces No.13-seeded Italian Roberta Vinci for a spot in the sweet 16. Vinci owns 23 hardcourt wins this season and she’s always a tough out on the surface, but Wozniacki has defeated the 33-year-old in all three of their meetings on hardcourts. Can Vinci use her eclectic style to throw Wozniacki’s game off saddle, or is Wozniacki, winner of 13 of her last 15 matches and six of her last seven deciders, simply too strong at this phase of the season to be denied?

Pick: Wozniacki in two

[11] Johanna Konta (GBR #14) vs. Timea Babos (HUN #26)
Head-to-head: Konta leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Babos is bidding for her 5th Top 20 win of 2016 on Tuesday.

Two players in the midst of breakout seasons will vie for a spot in the round of 16 on Tuesday, as Johanna Konta and Timea Babos meet for the second time and the first time in more than four years. Konta, ranked No.14 this week, was outside of the Top 200 when she first met Babos, who was then No.59. Four years later both players are firmly inside the Top 30 with Konta now knocking on the door of the Top 10 and entertaining hopes of making a last-ditch run at WTA Finals qualification. But Konta will have to hurry if she wants to make it to Singapore. She’s nearly 400 points behind No.8 Madison Keys on the RTS leaderboard and Beijing could be her only chance to make up the difference. Konta started her Asian swing with a quarterfinal performance at Wuhan last week, and she actually played Petra Kvitova pretty tough despite falling to the scorching-hot Czech in straight sets. Konta has won 18 of 23 matches since Wimbledon and continues to impress with her consistent level and supreme focus. The British No.1 doesn’t ever lack intensity or purpose on the court, and that should serve her well when she meets Babos, who is still learning to compete at the elite level and can go off the rails at times.

Pick: Konta in two

By the Numbers:
23 – All but three of Wozniacki’s 26 wins have come on hardcourts this season.
133 – Zhang Shuai’s ranking at this year’s Australian Open. The 27-year-old is currently the Chinese No.1, ranked at 36. She faces Alison Riske in second-round action on Tuesday.
4 – Previous champions remaining in the draw (Wozniacki, Kuznetsova, Radwanska and defending champion Muguruza).
0 – Number of successful China Open title defenses that have occurred. Garbiñe Muguruza is bidding to become the first.

WTA Finals: Get Your Tickets!

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Kvitova Books Muguruza Date After Coming Through Beijing Opener

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

BEIJING, China – Petra Kvitova overcame some early resistance from local favorite Wang Yafan to safely take her place in the third round of the China Open.

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Continuing the dominant form that took her to the title last week in Wuhan, Kvitova required little more than an hour to wrap up a 6-4, 6-1 victory and set up a showdown with defending champion Garbiñe Muguruza.

Beijing resident Wang came through qualifying to take her place in the main draw and even with the roof closed due to rain she looked at ease on court. In fact, it was the World No.143 that broke first, edging 3-2 ahead when Kvitova netted a backhand.

Any suggestion that Kvitova’s recent exertions were in danger of catching up with her were given short shrift. A break to love began a run that would bring her 10 of the next 12 games and place in the third round.

“I was pretty tired. I had two days off, which I think helped me. For sure, was a good win today. We’ll see how everything is going, like, in the next days,” Kvitova said.

“But I think I still do have motivation. I think it was a great week in Wuhan. I think that gave me more motivation and confidence, which I really needed before. I’m not really struggling with motivation here.”

While Kvitova’s head was ready for Wang, the same could not be said for her hands – a botched grooming session meant she took to the court with her fingers generously taped.

If the Czech keeps winning, she still has an outside chance of reaching the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Muguruza is also in the hunt for a place in Singapore, where last year she defeated Kvitova in an epic round robin encounter.

Kvitova, who avenged this with a three-set victory in Stuttgart, is expecting another tight affair: “For sure will be great match. I think it will be great battle again. I know how we fight in Stuttgart. It was a great match over there.

“I know how dangerous she is. I mean, she’s really playing aggressive from both sides and she’s serving real well and returning as well. That’s why I think I really need to be ready from the first shot which I’m playing.”

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