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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Olympic champion Monica Puig advanced to the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after defeating Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

“My serving was pretty good today so I think I just believed that I could serve it out and be as positive as I could,” said Puig. “She played a great match, she put me under pressure a lot and I’m just happy to get through.”

Following a confidence-building run to the semifinals of the Qatar Total Open, Puig continued her rich vein of form by taking the opening set 6-3 but squandered a handful of break points against the Kazakh’s serve before being broken twice to lose a tight second set 6-4.

Puig took an injury timeout before the start of the decider and it seemed to have the desired effect as the Puerto Rican gained the decisive opening break in the seventh game for a 4-3 lead before serving out for the win.

“There was just some soreness,” Puig said after appearing to be in back pain. “I came from the semis in Doha so obviously I need to get my body as recovered as possible but I’m feeling good after this win.”

Victory for Puig marks her best run in Dubai in only her second appearance and she next faces France’s Caroline Garcia, who beat Johanna Larsson on Sunday.

“I know she (Garcia) is a very feisty player. She plays really well and she’s had a great couple of years so I have to go out there and play my best game and whatever happens, happens but I’m just happy with what I’m doing.”

For Shvedova, her challenging start to the season continues. She made 44 unforced errors and 11 double faults and is yet to win a match in 2017.

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Notes & Netcords: August 29, 2016

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

WINNERS

Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska survived a late challenge from No.10 seed Elina Svitolina on route to claiming her first Connecticut Open title, 6-1, 7-6(2).

The World No.4 Radwanska took a wildcard into the New Haven event looking for some last-minute tune up ahead of the US Open. She’ll now leave the tournament having claimed the 19th WTA title of her career, and her second title of 2016 after opening the season with a win at Shenzhen.

“Yeah, it’s been a great week for me, great preparation,” Radwanska said. “A couple of great matches. In the semi, in the final. It was a very strong tournament, no easy matches. I was pushing myself 100% from the first round, working hard here.

“I’m just trying to keep it up and play the same level in New York.”

Click here for match recap and highlights.

In the doubles draw, Sania Mirza cemented her place at the top of the doubles ranking. Mirza and temporary partner Monica Niculescu capped off their newly rekindled doubles partnership with their first title together at the Connecticut Open, edging past Kateryna Bondarenko and Chuang Chia-Jung 7-5, 6-4.

“It’s always nice to have the week before a Grand Slam where you’re able to ease up,” Mirza explained in post-match press. “We go to New York and there’s so much happening there. Here you have nice restaurants and even though we’re in the city, you feel quite quiet around here.

“I was actually not planning on completely playing this week. But when Monica asked me, I thought we could obviously win together.”

Click here for match recap.


RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of August 29, 2016.

Johanna Larsson (SWE), +15 (No.62 to 47): Lucky loser Larsson made the best of her second shot at the Connecticut Open main draw, reaching her first Premier-level semifinal. She also jumps up to No.47, sitting one spot away from equaling her previous career high ranking of No.46.

Kirsten Flipkens (BEL), +12 (No.68 to 56): Another New Haven lucky loser, Flipkens played some of her best tennis to upset Belinda Bencic and Caroline Garcia and inch her way back up toward the Top 50.

Elina Svitolina (UKR), +4 (No.23 to 19): Having reached her career first Premier-level final at New Haven last week, Svitolina jumps up four spots to land back inside the Top 20.


UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS

US Open
New York, USA
Grand Slam | $ TBA | Hard, Outdoor
Monday, August 29 – Sunday, September 11

Dalian Women’s Tennis Open
Dalian, China
125K | $115,000 | Hard, Outdoor
Tuesday, September 6 – Sunday, September 11

Coupe Banque Nationale
Quebec City, Canada
International | $226,750 | Carpet
Monday, September 12 – Sunday, September 18

Japan Women’s Open Tennis
Tokyo, Japan
International | $226,750 | Hard
Monday, September 12 – Sunday, September 18

TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Serena Williams – US Open
2. Angelique Kerber – US Open
3. Garbiñe Muguruza – US Open
4. Agnieszka Radwanska – US Open
5. Simona Halep – US Open
6. Venus Williams – US Open
7. Victoria Azarenka
8. Roberta Vinci – US Open
9. Madison Keys – US Open
10. Svetlana Kuznetsova – US Open
11. Karolina Pliskova – US Open
12. Carla Suárez Navarro – US Open
13. Dominika Cibulkova – US Open
14. Johanna Konta – US Open
15. Timea Bacsinszky – US Open
16. Petra Kvitova – US Open
17. Samantha Stosur – US Open
18. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – US Open
19. Elina Svitolina – US Open
20. Elena Vesnina – US Open

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:

Margarita Gasparyan (RUS) – September 1, 1994
Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) – September 3, 1988

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

DUBAI, UAE –

Garbiñe Muguruza has taken quite a climb in the last 12 months, winning her maiden major title at the French Open. The Spaniard climbed even higher before kicking off her campaign at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, scaling the world’s tallest building at the Burj Khalifa.

“I’m very excited to see what’s upstairs!” said the No.5 seed before beginning her journey up into the heavens.

Muguruza enjoyed a leisurely ride up the world’s fastest elevator to take in the view from the observation deck on the 148th floor.

“I’ve been told when you’re up this high, you can see the earth starting to curve,” she mused.

Muguruza plays her opening round match on Tuesday against Kateryna Bondarenko; check out the rest of her trip to the Burj Khalifa right here on wtatennis.com!

 

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US Open First Round Begins

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

WTA Insider | The final Grand Slam of 2016 is already underway; stay tuned for more on the first edition of the US Open’s WTA Insider Live Blog.

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

After a rollercoaster week in Doha, World No.3 Karolina Pliskova took home the title, posting back to back wins over Dominika Cibulkova and Caroline Wozniacki along the way. Her efforts vault her into the No.2 spot on the Road To Singapore leaderboard, leapfrogging past Australian Open finalist Venus Williams.

She’s now the first player to win two WTA titles in 2017, and she’s also 15 of the 16 matches she’s played this year (including Fed Cup).

“I don’t feel like I lost just once! I feel like I lost more times but it didn’t happen and I got two trophies. Yeah, it’s an amazing start [to the season],” Pliskova told WTA Insider after her win in Doha.

“It’s always tough after the off-season to get in a good shape at the tournaments and get back on track. I think it’s the best that I’ve ever had and the longest streak of winning matches that I had.”

Another major RTS move this week belongs to reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion Dominika Cibulkova, who reached the semifinals in Doha to storm into the Top 8.

Here are the biggest moves on the Road To Singapore this week:
Karolina Pliskova +2 (No.4 to No.2)
Venus Williams -1 (No.2 to No.3)
Johanna Konta -1 (No.3 to No.4)
Dominika Cibulkova +6 (No.14 to No.8)
Elina Svitolina -1 (No.8 to No.9)
Caroline Wozniacki +20 (No.29 to No.9)

Click here to check out the full Road to Singapore leaderboard, updated as of February 20th.

Road To Singapore Leaderboard

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Ivanovic Squashes Retirement Talk

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NEW YORK, NY, USA – Earlier today, No.26 seed Ana Ivanovic was stunned in straight sets by Czech player Denisa Allertova 7-6(4), 6-1 in her opening match at the US Open.

It was Ivanovic’s fourth first-round loss in a row in a season marked by early exits and a drop in ranking.

After a fantastic couple of seasons in 2014 and 2015 – which saw Ivanovic get back into the Top 10 following a spate of injuries and return to the French Open semifinals – the former No.1 is down to No.31, and the last semifinal she’s reached came in February at St. Petersburg.

Following the latest in a string of disappointing results, Ivanovic was asked directly in her post-match press conference if she had any plans to retire.

Here’s what she answered:

“No, not at all. I just need to really see why is this happening, you know. Because, I mean, I had struggles throughout my career; I had some tough times. This is not the first time I’m going through this.

“It just hurts because I know what I invested.”

Earlier in the week, Ivanovic told WTA Insider of her frustrating 2016 season and what she considers one of her lowest moments: losing in straight sets to qualifier Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round of Wimbledon after weeks of putting in hard work at the gym and on the courts.

“I’ve really felt, always, that if you put the hard work in, it will give results,” she told the WTA Insider Podcast. “But now, I feel like I’ve been putting in so much hard work in, but the results just haven’t been coming in the matches.

“It’s always a process, but also a Catch-22. Because, to win matches you need confidence, but to get confidence you need to win matches. So that’s a little bit where I’m at.”

Despite the disappointments she’s suffered this year, Ivanovic embraces the tough moments and bad luck, viewing them as just another facet in her long career.

Another Ivanovic trait? Finding her way back.

“I really haven’t been lucky in my career,” Ivanovic said. “I always felt like I had to go through hard work, and I had to do it all myself.

“And in a way, I’m proud of it. Because I know that I actually deserve whatever I’ve achieved. Because everything was a product of hard work, nothing was just given to me.”

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

DUBAI, UAE – Day 2 of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships got underway in earnest as Monica Puig and Kristina Mladenovic scored solid wins while former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki put on a decisive display against young Russian Daria Kasatkina.

Catch up on the top stories right here, courtesy of WTA Insider:

Caroline Wozniacki welcomes Sascha Bajin to the team.

Less than 48 hours after playing the final at the Qatar Total Open, Caroline Wozniacki was back on court in Dubai, scoring a solid 6-2, 7-5 win over Daria Kasatkina in the first round. In her player’s box for the second week in the row was a familiar face, Sascha Bajin, former hitting partner to Serena Williams and coach to Victoria Azarenka. Wozniacki and Bajin are working together until Charleston, when they plan to re-evaluate the set-up, but so far so good. The Dane is now 5-1 since their partnership began last week.

With the experience he brings to the table, Bajin is more than just a traveling hitting partner for Wozniacki. He’s more of a “hitting partner plus”.

“He helps my dad,” Wozniacki said. “He looks at the matches, too. He scouts and they talk a lot what they feel I can improve on and things like that. He comes with inputs and practices. He’s definitely a hitter plus. Assistant coach, I guess.”

Before joining forces with Bajin, Wozniacki said she ran the arrangement past Serena to get her blessing.

“I definitely talked to Serena about it,” Wozniacki said. “Just wanted to hear. And also how she feels about me working with him. You just want to know that you don’t clash. She said he’s a very hard worker, and she has nothing bad to say about him. She likes him a lot.”

The Americans run wild on Day 2.

Alison Riske got the better of her Fed Cup teammate CoCo Vandeweghe, putting in a focused effort to knock out the No.11 seed 6-4, 6-4. Christina McHale beat No.13 seed Kiki Bertens 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4, while Catherine Bellis notched the most surprising result of the day, beating Yulia Putintseva 6-1 7-5.

The shortest straw had to go to Riske, who just over a week ago was playing alongside Vandeweghe in Hawaii for her Fed Cup debut. Riske admitted the match-up was awkward, but with the insurgence of Americans in the Top 100, it’s something they’re all going to have to get used to.

“It can be difficult, especially we just had the best week together at Fed Cup. So it was unfortunate that we played each other first round. But at the end of the day you have to focus on you, and there are so many Americans now in the top. We are all friends, or at least I feel like we are,” she said with a laugh.

“We’re going to be [playing] each other week in and week out, and it’s something that we’ve got to get used to. You just have to focus on you and not worry about the other person on the other side of net.”

CiCi Bellis starts her season with an upset.

Catherine Bellis’ start of the season was derailed by hamstring and glute injuries, forcing her to skip January. In her first main draw match of the year, the 17-year-old American conjured a stunning comeback, rallying from 1-5 down in the second set to beat St. Petersburg finalist Yulia Putintseva 6-1, 7-5.

“I got myself in a bit of trouble in the second set, but I’m glad I got out of it,” Bellis said. “I just thought to myself, stick to my game plan, just keep steady, I can come back.

“I can come back against anyone I set my mind to. I’m really glad I got through it.”

The youngest player ranked in the Top 100, Bellis said her two qualifying matches last week in Doha helped her find her match rhythm quickly. “I think it was a little bit nerve-wracking just in certain parts of it, because I’m still getting used to matches again and getting back into the season. But I think it went well. I didn’t feel too rusty.”

Kristina Mladenovic readies for the Pliskova challenge.

The Frenchwoman is on a roll as of late, winning six of her last seven matches, including a strong 6-3, 6-3 win over Katerina Siniakova on Monday. Next up? The hottest player on tour: Karolina Pliskova.

“It’s a big challenge. First of all, we know each other very well. I mean, we are great friends. We always had tough matches, especially the last one.”

Last season, Mladenovic finished her singles season with a 6-3, 4-6, 16-14 loss to Pliskova in the Fed Cup final. It’s a match that still haunts her. “When I think about it, I still have the ‘I don’t want to see you that soon again’ [feeling],” Mladenovic said laughing. “That was a long one that I had in my mind for quite a long time because it was at the end of the season, and it was a tough one, a tough loss for our team.

“But she’s definitely up there, on fire, like full confidence, I have to say. She’s been improving like for the last two or three years like all the time and being now like a serious tough player, like she proved it with lots of titles already. And especially her game, it’s tough. It’s tough to play. You know, you have to be very, very consistent, try to read her serve, especially. That’s her biggest weapon. So I’m expecting a very difficult match.”

Ana Konjuh drops just one game to Zhang Shuai.

The 19-year-old rolled in her opening match, winning 6-0, 6-1 to score the first main draw win of her career in Dubai. Next she’ll get her first look at No.12 seed Sam Stosur. When asked if there are any specific players she’s looking forward to playing for the first time, the Croatian teenager’s eyes lit up.

“I haven’t played Serena,” she said with bit smile. “And I grew up watching her, and I think it will be a dream come true to share the court. I think, you know, she’s a legend. Hopefully that day is gonna come soon.”

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

DUBAI, UAE – Ekaterina Makarova beat No.3 seed Dominika Cibulkova for the second time this year to reach the third round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

“It was such a great match, very tough and she’s a tough opponent.” said the Russian winner. “We just played at the Australian Open and it’s the first time in nine years that I’ve won a match on the centre court, I’m so happy.”

Makarova had won the most recent meeting between the pair in the third round of the 2017 Australian Open and she again made the better start, breaking the Slovak to love in the third game – a further break helping to seal a comfortable 6-2 opening set.

Cibulkova came into the match with no shortage of confidence having made the semifinals of last week’s Qatar Total Open and her renowned fighting qualities were in evidence as she fought back to break early in the second set. Despite conceding the break back, she broke again at 5-4 and leveled the match as Makarova double faulted.

It was the fourth time in their last five meetings that a final set was required. The pair traded early breaks before Makarova broke again to wrestle the initiative, the 2015 Dubai quarterfinalist breaking twice more and winning the final six games.

“I started really well but I know that Domi is an unbelievable fighter and she’s fighting until the end,” added Makarova. “The second set was a little up and down and I tried to stay calm into the third set when I was losing 2-0 and it helped me this time, believing I could beat her. I was serving really well and, in the important moments, I hit good returns. When I’m staying close to the baseline, I play much more aggressive than when I’m staying back a little bit.”

Defeat for Cibulkova breaks a run of two consecutive WTA Tour semifinals. Makaraova will play either Lauren Davis or Krystina Pliskova in the third round.

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