Rome: Halep Interview
An interview with Simona Halep before her opening round match at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
An interview with Simona Halep before her opening round match at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
NEWPORT, RI, USA – Former World No.1 and six-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters has been elected to receive induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
“I feel very, very honored to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame,” the Belgian said in a video statement that will play during a special ceremony at the Australian Open on Tuesday. “It is a huge honor to be amongst a list of so many great tennis players who I admired when I was growing up, and some great players who I played with in my tennis career as well.”
Joining Clijsters in the Hall of Fame Class of 2017 will be 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick, Monique Kalkman-van den Bosch, a 4-time Paralympic medalist in wheelchair tennis, being honored for her remarkable career.
Additionally, two individuals will be inducted in the Contributor Category. Steve Flink, a distinguished tennis historian and journalist has been elected for induction. Vic Braden, a groundbreaking tennis instructor who was among the first to apply sports science to his instructional tactics will be inducted posthumously.
“It’s a real pleasure to welcome these five remarkable individuals into the Hall of Fame. Kim, Andy, and Monique compiled outstanding careers, winning the game’s biggest titles and ascending to the world No. 1 ranking,” remarked International Tennis Hall of Fame President and 1987 Hall of Famer Stan Smith.
The Class of 2017 will be officially inducted on July 22, during Rolex Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. Tickets for the Induction Ceremony will go on sale in early February. In addition, the class will be celebrated in a tribute exhibit opening in June in the Museum at the International Tennis Hall of Fame, which will be displayed for one year.
One of six women in tennis history to simultaneously top the world rankings in singles and doubles, Clijsters was the world No. 1 player for 19 weeks and was ranked within the World’s Top 5 for 250 weeks during her career. She is a three-time US Open champion (2005, 2009, 2010) and she was also the 2011 Australian Open champion. Clijsters won two major doubles titles, capturing both the French Open and Wimbledon titles in 2003.
Clijsters is a three-time champion at the WTA Finals (2002, 2003, 2010). She won 41 singles titles, and was a dedicated Belgian Fed Cup team member, leading the team to their first Fed Cup title in 2001 and into the finals again in 2006.
Clijsters retired from tennis in 2007, and then embarked on a second career in tennis with a comeback in 2009. That year, she went on to win the US Open, in what was just her third tournament back on the tour. She was unranked, unseeded, and a wild card entry to the event. Two years later, in 2011, she once again reached the world No. 1 ranking, five years after she had last been there.
Since retirement, Clijsters, now a mother of three, has been focused on her family. She remains engaged in tennis through Kim Clijsters Academy in Belgium, where many juniors train and through competing in Legends events at the Grand Slams.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
An interview with Johanna Konta after her win in the second round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Serena Williams talks about the length of her career – and how she feels when her contemporaries retire from the sport…
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni says it’s all coming together at just this right time at this Australian Open…
Top seed Serena Williams and a pair of top Spaniards lead the top half of the draw as the field begins fighting for spots in the quarterfinals. Who will advance first into the final eight?
Venus Williams perfectly summed up what makes sports so special in a powerful answer at her Australian Open press conference.
ROME, Italy – Madison Keys gritted through a tough opening set to battle past Timea Babos, 7-6(2), 6-3, to achieve a career-best result at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Rome right here on wtatennis.com!
There was little between the two in the opening set, as the Hungarian forced a tie-break to conclude a run of 12 straight service holds.
“The first set was definitely back and forth, just big serving,” Keys said in her post-match press conference. “Neither one of us could kind of get a read on where the other person was serving. But there was a couple of points in the tiebreaker where I really kind of put the point together a little bit better.”
But Keys took the initiative from there, racing out to a 5-1 lead in the sudden death and didn’t look back, taking the match in 82 minutes behind 26 winners to 22 unforced errors.
“Then after that, I just got a little bit more rhythm and confidence, and then from there I was able to break early in the second. That definitely helped the momentum kind of go more towards my side.”
Great hands, @TimeaBabos! #ibi16 https://t.co/J3SnXQ15sM
— WTA (@WTA) May 12, 2016
Both had earned upsets during Wednesday’s night session, but Babos’ nearly three hour win over former No.1 Venus Williams seemed to take its toll in the second set, as the Hungarian could only muster 16 winners and 26 unforced errors, only engineering one break point opportunity in two sets.
“I usually don’t do great here,” Keys continued. “And so, you know, putting a couple wins together felt really good. I’m not going to jinx it,” she said, knocking on wood.
“It feels like I’m kind of figuring it out just a little bit better. From there, you know, I’m putting more points together and kind of putting it all together a little bit better than before.
Awaiting Keys in her first Premier 5 clay court quarterfinal is Barbora Strycova, who played a perfect match to dismantle Eugenie Bouchard, 6-1, 6-0.
“It’s easy to get ahead of yourself and overthink things and put yourself in a round before you’ve actually even played,” Keys said. “I think it happens to everyone at times.
“So just really being focused on each match and doing what you need to do in that match has been a big thing for me.”
Bouchard was coming off of her first Top 5 win since 2014, having upset World No.2 and reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber in three sets. But Strycova, who won their most recent encounter at last year’s Mutua Madrid Open, played flawless tennis from start to finish, hitting 18 winners to only 15 unforced errors and breaking serve six times to take the match in just over an hour.
“I saw the ball like a football! I enjoyed the court; it was very nice, and the spectators stayed. It was a good evening,” an elated Strycova said after the match.
“I was playing my game very well; I was pretty confident on court, hitting the ball. It was pretty cold, so I had to get my body moving at the beginning.”
Going from strength to strength as the match wore on, Strycova’s confidence was evident with every winner she hit, several on the run and from defensive positions. Into her second Premier 5 quarterfinal of 2016, Strycova will look to avenge last week’s Madrid loss to Keys, who defeated her in straight sets.
“Clay isn’t my favorite surface, until now!” she said with a laugh. “I’m trying to like it; I was working hard before Prague. I’m enjoying myself, enjoying Rome.
“[Keys] is such a big hitter, and I’m so small, so I have to be ready to try to return her serves. I’ll have to run and catch some fast balls!”
.@BaraStrycova races through the opening set vs Bouchard 6-1! #ibi16 https://t.co/fWi0V9114i
— WTA (@WTA) May 12, 2016
Serena Williams says it’s important to scout her sister’s game-plan before the Australian Open final…
A strong serving performance led Serena Williams to a 6-2 6-0 victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Rome quarterfinals. According to SAP Tennis Analytics for Coaches, Williams exceeded her season averages in every serving category in her 51 minute victory Friday.
Six weeks ago, Kuznetsova defeated the World No.1 as Williams struggled with her service in Miami. In Rome, the Williams serve was vastly improved.
Williams put 78% of her first serves in play Friday, up considerably from her season average of 60%. The SAP Coaches View analytics also show that percentage was just 63% in the Miami match, which included a combined 56% in the final two sets, which Williams lost.
At 74%, Williams leads the WTA in first serve points won. On Friday, she did even better, winning 81% of first serve points. That is also a significant improvement over the Miami match in which she won only 60% of first serve points, and that dipped to 53% in her two losing sets.
She was also improved on second serves, winning 56 percent of those points, compared to her season percentage of 50%. In the Miami loss, Williams won only 39% of those points in total, and just 28% in the final two sets.
The SAP Coaches View combines scoring information direct from the chair umpire with tracking data from HawkEye to allow for an in depth look at five different aspects of a match. Each tracking option can be filtered to narrow the focus to specific situations within a match, such as break points. This information is available directly to coaches in real-time during a match on their SAP tablet and also available to them online after matches.
“Service” tracking shows the landing point for all serves. The display differentiates between first serves, second serves and aces. Additional data on the screen shows the percentage of overall service points won as well as looking specifically at first and second serves.
For Serena Williams on Friday, there were many positives to take from this data.
