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Wuhan Tuesday: Top Seeds Kerber, Muguruza, Kick Off Wuhan Campaigns

Wuhan Tuesday: Top Seeds Kerber, Muguruza, Kick Off Wuhan Campaigns

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

How will Angelique Kerber handle her first match as a reigning World No.1 on Tuesday? We preview a busy slate of action in Wuhan, courtesy of WTATennis.com contributor Chris Oddo.

Tuesday

Second Round

[1] Angelique Kerber (GER #1) vs. Kristina Mladenovic (FRA #54)
Head-to-head: Kerber leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Kerber became the WTA’s 22nd No.1-ranked player on the Monday after the US Open.

How will it feel, taking the court as the WTA’s top-ranked player for the first time? Angelique Kerber isn’t quite sure. “I don’t know if it feels different,” she told reporters on Sunday in Wuhan. “I mean, I’m still the same person.” More than anything, having two weeks to relax after winning the US Open has left her feeling recharged and ready to push on through until the end of the 2016 season. “The two weeks at home, that gives me a lot of relaxing and a lot of power again, a lot more motivation,” she said. “I had a few days’ rest. That was really important for me after the US trip. Now, of course, the last trip of the year here in Asia, I’m really looking forward. I will try to enjoy everything, try to play my best and let’s see. I’m looking forward to now play the next tournament after New York.” The German will take on Kristina Mladenovic, a player that she has defeated in straight sets in their two previous meetings. Mladenovic, who defeated CoCo Vandeweghe in first-round action on Sunday in Wuhan, has not won back-to-back matches since July.

Pick: Kerber in two

[3] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #4) vs. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS #39)
Head-to-head: Radwanska leads, 4-2
Key Stat: All six of Radwanska and Makarova’s matches have been decided in straight sets.

No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska has lost two of her last three matches to Ekaterina Makarova, but she does own a 4-1 lifetime record against the Russian on hardcourts. Makarova, who blasted past Sabine Lisicki on Monday, has gone 0-3 against the Top 5 this season but she does own eight Top 5 wins in her career. Can Makarova, in the midst of a mildly disappointing season, summon the magic and make a run at Radwanska? It won’t be an easy task. The Pole is always an extra-tough out on hard courts. She’s gone 31-9 this season on the surface (Makarova has gone 14-12), and has won 99 matches on hardcourts since the beginning of 2014. Though she has gone winless in her first two appearances at Wuhan, Radwanska has been in good form of late, winning 9 of her last 11 and reaching the Tokyo semifinals last week.

Pick: Radwanska in three

[2] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #3) vs. Jelena Jankovic (SRB #39)
Head-to-head: Muguruza leads, 3-1
Key Stat: Jankovic has lost eight of her last nine against Top 5 players.

Wuhan was a major springboard for Garbiñe Muguruza in 2015. The Spaniard came to the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open having lost four of six after her breakthrough final at Wimbledon. But Muguruza erased all doubts about her big-match legitimacy by reaching the final here and then winning the title in Beijing to assure Singapore qualification. This year, Muguruza is the hunted rather than the hunter: She’s looking to cling to her Singapore status rather than swoop in and steal it. Currently at No.6 in the Road to Singapore standings, the Spaniard needs a few more key wins to clinch her spot. It’s not time for holiday yet, but Muguruza wants to make sure that when it is time for vacation, she can look back on her season knowing that she’s done everything she can to succeed. “This year I want to do everything I can so I can go on holiday happy,” she said on Sunday in her pre-tournament press conference. “I don’t want to have [losing] on the back of my mind.” On Tuesday Muguruza will face veteran Jelena Jankovic for the fifth time. The Serb was a runner-up last week in Guangzhou, and powered past Daria Gavrilova in straight sets on Sunday.

Pick: Muguruza in three

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN #22) vs. Katerina Siniakova (CZE #56)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Wozniacki has won 11 of her last 12 matches.

The turnaround continues. Now knocking on the door of the Top 20 just a month after bottoming out at No.74 in the world rankings, Caroline Wozniacki continued her torrid play with a straight-sets thumping of Samantha Stosur on Monday in Wuhan. The indefatigable Dane may be running on fumes after a long week in Tokyo, but it is not affecting her tennis. “I felt surprisingly good on court today,” she said in her post-match press conference after defeating Stosur for the seventh time in 12 career matches. “I was expecting to be tired, maybe not have the right timing, since it’s completely different conditions. I think a day off would have been nice, but I played really well today… I’m on a roll, so hopefully I can keep pushing myself and play well.” On Tuesday Wozniacki will be at it again, facing 20-year-old Czech Katerina Siniakova for the first time. Will Wozniacki have the energy to fend off the rising youngster? Siniakova has reached the final in two of her last four events (Bastad, Tokyo International), but to progress further in Wuhan she’ll need to stop the momentum of the Wozniacki freight train.

Pick: Wozniacki in two

Around the Grounds: Defending champion Venus Williams will contest her first match since the US Open against Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan. Williams holds a 3-1 lifetime edge over the fiery 21-year-old, but Putintseva won the pair’s last meeting, defeating Williams in three tough sets at Charleston this year. Williams was magnificent in Wuhan last season. She notched three Top 10 wins in claiming what ended up as the biggest title of her season. Williams says that being the defending a champion isn’t playing on her mind at all. The 36-year-old is just eager to play some good tennis. “I’m just happy to be here, do the best I can, hope to play just as well as last year, have just as much luck.” She told media on Sunday. “So no big expectations.”

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Kuznetsova Reflects On Comeback Season With Signature Wit As Singapore Looms

Kuznetsova Reflects On Comeback Season With Signature Wit As Singapore Looms

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

WUHAN, China – Svetlana Kuznetsova’s self-awareness never ceases to disarm a press room. The Russian was the last teenager to win her maiden Slam, which she did at the 2004 US Open at 19 years old. Over a decade on, the 31-year-old is set to return to her highest ranking since 2010, moving as high as No.7 after making the semifinals of this week’s Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.

Kuznetsova is in good position to finish her year inside the Top 10 for the first time since 2009 and qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global for the first time since that same year. All that is to say, the veteran is in the midst of an impressive career-turnaround, having been ranked as low as No.85 just three years ago:

Svetlana Kuznetsova

Over the last two years, Kuznetsova stopped caring about her ranking or even her results. She just wanted to enjoy her tennis again and go back to playing her creative and, for better or worse, unpredictable, creative game style. She fancies herself “an artist” on the court. When she plays her best, there’s little argument.

The result? A more relaxed, go with the flow Sveta. She finished last season by winning the Kremlin Cup and qualifying for the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, then picked up right where she left off, winning the Apia International Sydnery in January. Then came a run to the final of the Miami Open, where she beat then-No.1 Serena Williams en route and has been a consistent feature in the quarterfinals or better.

“All the life for me is mental,” Kuznetsova told reporters after saving match point to beat Agnieszka Radwanska in Wuhan. The press corp laughed. Kuznetsova shot a knowing grin.

“Right before the match, [my coach]. Carlos told me, Do you remember the time you play in Madrid?

“I said, ‘No, I don’t.’

“He said, ‘You were up 6-3 in the tiebreak, and then you lost it’.

“I’m like, ‘Oh.’

“Then here I go. I’m like 6-3 up, then 6-All. I’m like, ‘Damn, why did he tell me that?’

“Then I still have sometimes negative things appear in your head and you have to turn them around. After the match I said to Carlos, ‘Why did you tell me that before the match?’

“He said, ‘I know, I know. I was stupid.'”

Over the years Kuznetsova has learned how to play tricks on her herself, to lie to her mind to get her body to do what she wants it to do. It’s part of the experience you gain as a veteran on tour and it’s particularly important at the end of the season, when fatigue can get the better of so many players.

“Like probably when I was 25, 26, I was like, Damn, I’m so tired,” Kuznetsova said. “Damn, when the season going to be over? Now I don’t feel tired because I believe it’s mental. If you say, ‘Oh, season is in the end, I’m tired,’ you will be tired.

“Now I know it’s not something, like, ‘I going to play for ages.’ It makes it easier for me. Now I know it’s a few years left. It’s like, ‘Do the best out of it and that’s it.’ When I was 25, I knew [my tennis career] was still long way to go. I was like, ‘Shit, I’m so tired.’

“Now I just enjoy it.”

Knowing that she is closer to the end of her career also helps take the pressure off. The prospect of competing is far less daunting, especially if you, as Kuznetsova does, trick yourself.

“I think about [retirement] in the positive way, to make me go for more,” Kuznetsova said, when asked how much she thinks about the end of her career. “I say, ‘Look, it’s one, two years, you’re done.’ Maybe it’s not [but] it’s something convincing. You have to work with yourself and find the keys to convince yourself to do good in the positive way. Whatever you say, it’s working. If it’s positive, it makes you go better, that’s good.

“Sometimes I have to lie to myself a little bit in a funny way. I say, ‘Yeah, it’s one tournament, that’s it.’ It’s not, it’s going to be more. But it helps mentally. If you think it very long-term, that comes very big in front of you, big wall. If you do short-term, is better.”

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Mattek-Sands & Safarova Storm To Wuhan Title, Confirm Singapore Return

Mattek-Sands & Safarova Storm To Wuhan Title, Confirm Singapore Return

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

WUHAN, China – Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova completed a dominant week together with their seventh WTA title, outclassing Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova to win the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.

A sparkling performance saw Mattek-Sands and Safarova break six times to wrap up a 6-1, 6-4 victory after a fraction over an hour on court.

The result continues a memorable end to the season for the American-Czech duo, whose success in China follows on from victory at the US Open. This points haul has not only sent both players shooting up the rankings, but more importantly secures them a return to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

The only wobble came with the finishing line in sight, Safarova surrendering her hitherto faultless serve to offer Strycova the chance to level the second set at 5-5. However, the No.5 seeds nipped the comeback in the bud, swatting away a couple of opportunistic volleys to close out the match.

“I think we had an amazing match today,” Safarova said. “We came out strong from the beginning. We returned great, served great, took their time away. That was the right strategy.”

The tone was set on the very first point of the match, Safarova firing a backhand past Strycova. Sensing an early opportunity, on the following point Mattek-Sands swept an inviting ball past the stranded Czech. They soon had the break and went from strength to strength, finding an answer for every question posed by the No.3 seeds.

“We went over our game plan and we just upped our game. So whether our opponents played well or didn’t play well, we were going to stick to our game,” Mattek-Sands added. “But I think, like Lucie said, we just took away their time and that’s what we did.”

Mattek-Sands and Safarova will hope to replicate this form in Singapore, where they have unfinished business. Last year, their challenge came to a premature conclusion, injury dashing their hopes in the round robin stage.

“It’s just awesome [to qualify]. we’ve been there last year but were a little bit injured and so it wasn’t the greatest performance,” Safarova said.

“But it’s amazing to make it again,” Mattek-Sands added. “Singapore is obviously is the best of the best. We literally just found out right after the match that we qualified so it’s still sinking in.”

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Radwanska Steps Closer To Singapore With Beijing Win Over Wang

Radwanska Steps Closer To Singapore With Beijing Win Over Wang

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

BEIJING, China – 2015 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion Agnieszka Radwanska is just two matches from booking a return to Singapore with a first round win at the China Open, defeating wildcard Wang Qiang, 6-2, 6-2.

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“First match is always tricky,” said the No.3 seed in her post-match press conference. “I just realized that the court and balls are much slower than the last week. Well, I was just trying to be more aggressive. If I had a chance, I was stepping in and moving to the net.”

Radwanska could have booked her ticket to Singapore last week had she won the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, but fell to former World No.2 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals – despite holding a match point in the second set.

“You are always trying to not think about pressure, especially here, close to Singapore.

“I just hope I can do it here, that’s for sure. 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. It’s a little bit more pressure, but I think every year it’s kind of similar situation for everyone, especially a lot of girls this year is really close and the rankings are very tight.”

Easing ahead to a 6-2, 5-1 lead, Radwanska wobbled at the finish line against Wang, a talented player who started the year by taking out Sloane Stephens at the Australian Open, but the Pole rebounded to end the match in one hour and 24 minutes.

“I had a couple of matchpoints. It was still not a tragedy when I was 5-1 up. I was just very happy that I put a couple of good shots in next game and closed that set also very quickly.”

Up next for the World No.3 is Ekaterina Makarova, who dispatched fellow Singapore doubles partner Elena Vesnina, 6-2, 6-1, in their first round encounter on Sunday.

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Hlavackova, Hradecka Reach Miami QF

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MIAMI, FL, USA – No.5 seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka stayed cool in the hot and heavy conditions of the Miami Open, needing only 66 minutes to dish out ice cold revenge on Qatar Total Open finalists Sara Errani and Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-4, 6-3.

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The 2012 Olympic Silver medalists and two-time Grand Slam champions had a bright start to 2016 with a run to the finals of the Australian Open and a semifinal finish in St. Petersburg, but fell to Errani in each of their last two events – first with Suárez Navarro and again last week with Oksana Kalashnikova.

“We lost to these girls in Doha, and lost to Errani last week in Indian Wells, so we were very motivated ot get this first win this year against her,” Hlavackova said after the match. “We played very well. They are a very solid and very good team and also played very well today, so it was a good match an we’re very happy to be through.”

Through difficult conditions, Hlavackova and Hradecka not only had to deal with extreme heat, but also a strong breeze that kept things interesting throughout.

“It was so humid, and a bit windy,” Hradecka said.

“Very windy,” Hlavackova added.

“I think we handled the conditions very well,” Hradecka continued. “We played aggressively. With the wind, we played unbelievably well. but even against the wind, we still had the power.”

Up next for the “Silent Hs,” who reunited at the end of 2014 and saw their first full season back together rewarded with a run to the semifinals of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global last fall, are two formidble teams in the recently reunited No.3 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova and Russians Elena Vesnina and Daria Kasatkina, who ended Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza’s 41-match winning streak in Doha. 

“We’re definitely looking forward to playing one of these teams,” Hlavackova said. “We’re going to watch tomorrow; it’s actually good they play tomorrow so we can

We stick together as a team. We fight for every point. We’re pretty aggressive and have good communication. So far, it’s been working for us.

It’s easy to talk about things on and off the court and we mesh well on the court; I think we combine well together really well. Alla has good strength and I’m trying to be crafty and move around at the net. I think we pair well together and anything we feel like we need to work on, it’s easy for us to talk to each other about it and go out and do it.

It’s hot and humid, but we’re Miami; that’s nothing we didn’t expect. Drink a lot of water, hydrate, put on a lot of sunblock, which I didn’t do today, so I will pay for it tomorrow!

 scout a little, because we haven’t seen Kasatkina play. We’re very much looking forward because we feel very well here on the court, since we have two wins!”

Earlier in the day, Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva – the only other team to defeat Hingis and Mirza since last summer last week at the BNP Paribas Open – reached their third straight quarterfinal in their third outing as a team with a 6-0, 7-6(1) win over Anastasia Rodionova and Galina Voskoboeva, who is only playing her second WTA tournament since a pair of foot injuries sidelined her two years ago.

“We stick together as a team,” Kudryavtseva said after the match. “We fight for every point. We’re pretty aggressive and have good communication. So far, it’s been working for us.”

“It’s easy to talk about things on and off the court and we mesh well on the court,” King added. “I think we combine well together really well. Alla has good strength and I’m trying to be crafty and move around at the net. I think we pair well together and anything we feel like we need to work on, it’s easy for us to talk to each other about it and go out and do it.”

First out on Court 7, the Australian Open quarterfinalists followed up on their dismissal of nemeses Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova – who ended each of their runs in Melbourne and Indian Wells – with a 75-minute win that came as a welcome relief from the already-tough conditions.

“It’s hot and humid, but we’re Miami; that’s nothing we didn’t expect,” Kudryavtseva said. “Drink a lot of water, hydrate, put on a lot of sunblock, which I didn’t do today, so I will pay for it tomorrow!”

Up next for King and Kudryavtseva could be a rematch of their Indian Wells encounter with Hingis and Mirza, who have only won two matches since seeing their streak end in Doha.

No.8 seeds Xu Yi-Fan and Zheng Saisai also reached the quarterfinals on Sunday, with a 3-6, 6-3, 10-4 win over Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja, while Ekaterina Makarova and Barbora Strycova recovered from a set down to defeat former No.1s Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai, 5-7, 6-2, 10-6.

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