Tennis News

MONTRÉAL, Canada – It’s going to be a big week in Canada, as all the major contenders continue to fine-tune their game ahead of the Olympics and US Open. Here are 10 facts to feast on ahead of the visit to one of the oldest stop-offs on tour…

1) The draw is out.
The official draw ceremony took place on Friday night – check out the draw right here!

2) This is the last chance for most to find their game before the Olympics.
For the majority of leading names, Montréal represents the final opportunity for match practice ahead of the Rio Olympics – the tennis competition begins on August 6.

3) Twelve of the Top 14 players in the world are in Toronto.
It’s a Grand Slam-quality field – 13 of the Top 14 players in the world are here, with the only absentees being World No.1 Serena Williams and mother-to-be Victoria Azarenka. Also missing out is defending champion Belinda Bencic (read more here).

4) Serena has never triumphed in Montréal.
Serena Williams has won titles galore at the Rogers Cup. Just not in Montréal. The World No.1 has lifted the trophy three times – 2001, 2011 and 2013 – but each of those triumphs came at the event’s other home, the Rexall Centre in Toronto. Her last visit to Montréal ended in a semifinal defeat at the hands of sister Venus in 2014.

5) And there is some added pressure this time…
Serena has reigned supreme atop the rankings since February 2013, and should she enjoy her usual bountiful summer on cement, the likelihood is that she will break Steffi Graf’s record for most consecutive weeks (186) at No.1. However, should she falter then any one of Angelique Kerber, Garbiñe Muguruza or Agnieszka Radwanska are close enough to overhaul her in the next few months. Should one of the aforementioned trio get on a roll, it could conceivably happen before the US Open.,

6) The leading four seeds all have potential banana skins lying in their path.
After a first-round bye, top seed Serena could meet Monica Puig then Stanford finalist Johanna Konta after that. Kerber will begin against either a qualifier or upset specialist Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, while Muguruza has been paired with the winner of Annika Beck versus Daria Gavrilova. Radwanska, winner the last time the Rogers Cup was held at the Stade Uniprix, opens up against either Jelena Ostapenko or Monica Niculescu.

7) Before then there are plenty of eye-catching first-round match-ups to feast on…
Arguably the pick of the bunch is hometown favorite Eugenie Bouchard’s clash with Lucie Safarova. Also sanding out is Madison Keys’ meeting with recent Wimbledon semifinalist Elena Vesnina.

8) There are contenders throughout the draw.
Rounding out the Top 8 seeds are Simona Halep – last year’s runner-up – Venus Williams, Roberta Vinci and Carla Suárez Navarro. Another former finalist, Dominika Cibulkova, is seeded No.11, while Ekaterina Makarova, Safarova, Barbora Strycova and Sloane Stephens are all lurking in the unseeded contingent.

9) If you’re good enough, you’re old enough.
Twelve months ago, opportunity knocked and Bencic pounced to announce herself to the wider sporting world. Can another precocious youngster do the same this time around? Daria Kasatkina, Daria Gavrilova and Elina Svitolina have all shown glimpses of what they are capable of, or perhaps Madison Keys will rediscover the momentum that took her into the Top 10 earlier this summer?

10) Find out where you can watch the action from Montréal here!

STANFORD, CA, USA – No.3 seed Johanna Konta played one of the best matches of her career to dismiss former No.1 and two-time Bank of the West Classic champion Venus Williams, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, to capture her first WTA title.

Watch live action from Bastad, Stanford and Washington DC this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

“It’s quite an incredibly humbling experience,” she said after the match when asked about winning her first title. “It’s a validation of all the hard work you’ve already put in and a motivator on the things you want to keep improving on, and the lengths you might go to in order to become that much better at your discipline

Konta kicked off her career-best season with a win over the elder Williams sister in the first round of the Australian Open, going on to become the first British woman to reach semifinals Down Under since Sue Barker in 1977. The top-ranked Brit has only continued to rise since then, making the second week of both Indian Wells and Miami, and finishing in the semifinals of the Aegon International in Eastbourne.

“I’ve played her twice before and knew I’d be playing a magnitude of experience. Venus Williams doesn’t need an introduction, and I knew going into that I’d need to stay focused on myself and to be really grateful for the experience and try to learn from her within the match. I wanted to leave it all out there, but also absorb everything that I could possibly reinvest in my career moving forward.”

Playing Stanford for the first time at 25 years old, Konta overcame a quarterfinal wobble against Zheng Saisai to emphatically defeat No.2 seed Dominika Cibulkova on Saturday, and was on course for a similarly landmark win against Williams on Sunday, surging out to a set and 4-1 lead.

“Credit to her for playing great tennis; she played so well and all of her balls were landing today,” Venus said after the match. “It wasn’t my best day, but I tried to stay in there and fight, and that helped me get an opportunity to win the match.”

Where Konta was making her debut, Venus’ story began in Stanford over 20 years ago, playing her first WTA tournament at the Bank of the West Classic – even winning a match before falling to Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in three sets. The American has played incredible tennis in her own right this season, and the Wimbledon semifinalist wouldn’t go down without a fight.

“Just because it’s 4-1 doesn’t mean the match is over; it’s not a favorable scoreline if you happen to be down, but it’s not over.”

From the aforementioned deficit, Venus won six of the next seven games to level the match at a set apiece.

“Quite honestly, you’d expect nothing less from a champion,” Konta said. “They don’t give away any match, much less a final. It was her 80th, so you could only imagine the number of different situations that she’s already been in. It was about keeping things in perspective, and understanding there’d be ebbs and flows in the match.”

Konta recovered in surprising fashion in the decider, relying on a fabulous serving day – one in which she hit 12 aces to three from Venus – and an aggressive ground game (42 winners to 39 unforced errord) to shake off a tricky final game to serve out her maiden WTA trophy.

“Every single point was a battle, and I tried to win as many battles as possible.

“The simpler you keep things, the more clarity you have, and the less dumb you play!”

Believe it @JoKonta91! ? #BOTWC pic.twitter.com/qO3pqpmmtO

— WTA (@WTA) July 24, 2016

STANFORD, CA, USA – We Konta believe it!

Johanna Konta joined the winner’s circle, winning her first WTA title at the Bank of the West Classic. And she did in impressive fashion. To win the title, Konta knocked off the top two seeds in Dominika Cibulkova and Venus Williams and she’ll move to No.14 on Monday.

Hear Jo talk about her meteoric rise over the last 12 months — she was ranked No.126(!) this time last year — and her mouth-watering plans to celebrate her career milestone.

(Spoiler alert: It will be animal style.)

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MONTRÉAL, Canada – No.12 seed Petra Kvitova weathered a rainy day at the Rogers Cup to rain down on Madga Linette, 6-1, 6-2, in just over an hour on Court Central.

Watch live action from Montréal this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Kvitova’s first North American hardcourt title came in Montréal back in 2012, and he rode those good memories to an emphatic win over Linette on Monday night.

“I think the rain is following women’s tennis right now – wherever we are it’s a rainy day! – so I’m just happy I was able to play. It was the night session, but I just had to wait a little bit longer and I’m glad that I played, I won and I’m through,” Kvitova said after the match.

Linette pushed former No.1 Venus Williams to three sets last week at the Bank of the West Classic, but was overwhelmed by the two-time Wimbledon winner, who won nine of 12 points on second serve return points and didn’t face a break point in any of her own seven service games.

Thanks to the best ball kids! Haha and to the crowd for staying out after the rain, had fun out there tonight ?✌ pic.twitter.com/5p5QakiAhQ

— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) 26 July 2016

Kvitova’s next obstacle as she looks to rouse a slumbering season is either Alizé Cornet or Andrea Petkovic. “My first half of the season wasn’t as great as I would have wished, but I’m always believing that I can come back and play well. This is a chance for me and I’ll do everything I can to go far.”

Another seed making progress in the bottom half was 2011 finalist Samantha Stosur, who finished strongly to get past Heather Watson, 7-5, 6-3. “To get through in straight sets, I’m pretty happy,” Stosur said. “Overall I thought I served pretty well. There weren’t a lot of points off my serve where she could dictate off the first shot.”

Around the grounds, qualifier Camila Giorgi squeaked past Sloane Stephens, 7-6(2), 7-6(4). No.17 seed Elina Svitolina knocked out American qualifier Jennifer Brady, 6-2, 6-4, while Naomi Broady fought back to defeat Monica Puig, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.