St. Petersburg: Sunday Highlights
Highlights from final action at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Highlights from final action at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
New York City is a never-ending source of inspiration, so it was not hard for Nike to create a stunning collection for the final Grand Slam of the season. Vibrant colors are often an integral part of the US Open tennis clothes, as the host city’s vibrancy asks for lively designs with energizing pops of color. Marija Zivlak of Women’s Tennis Blog will present the new apparel Nike created for the most fashionable tennis tournament.
Having retained her number one ranking, Serena Williams is ready to continue to fight for it at the US Open, on top of being a leading candidate for claiming the top spot in the list of best dressed players at Flushing Meadows.
The predominant black of the American’s NikeCourt Power Dress reflects the glamor of the metropolis, while the exposed peeks of hyper pink in the pleats mimic the city’s neon lights. The dress also comes in white with pink highlights.
When it comes to performance, Nike paid special attention to equipping players for hot and humid summer days that hit the US Open, creating an engineered knit construction that combats the difficult weather conditions.
Madison Keys’ performance will be supported by lightweight mesh breathable material and perforated fabric of her NikeCourt Dry Slam Tank that pairs with the NikeCourt Flex Victory Skirt.
Pops of volt applied in a modern gradient way perfectly match the energy of the tournament, while skinny racerback and all-around knife pleats ensure optimal range of motion. Moreover, ultimate comfort is provided by the skirt’s built-in compression short and the option of choosing between two lengths.
On-court action is not everything there is to the US Open, so for all the work behind the scenes Nike created the practice collection. It includes the NikeCourt Baseline Tank equipped with Dri-FIT technology to keep players dry and comfortable, and the NikeCourt Baseline Short that comes in a wide variety of colors and features built-in knit jersey compression short, woven outer short with side vents, as well as tonal knit jersey side panel for enhanced mobility.
An interview with Coco Vandeweghe after her first round win at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
DUBAI, UAE – Caroline Garcia booked the first spot into the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships semifinals after a dominant win against Andrea Petkovic, 6-3, 6-4.
Into her career first Premier-level semifinal, 22-year-old Garcia continued turning promise into achievements as she took on the No.28 Petkovic, who had defeated her in both of her previous encounters.
“It was very difficult conditions, very windy,” Garcia said afterwards. “It’s never easy to play in these conditions so you have to be focused.
“I played pretty aggressive today but you have to against [Petkovic] – she’s a big fighter.”
Garcia broke early in the opening set to go up 3-1, staying toe-to-toe with the big hitting German. Petkovic’s serve, which had been ailing all match long, misfired at the worst time, producing three double faults to give Garcia set points before sending a forehand long to hand the French player the first set.
Garcia once again broke serve and consolidated quickly to start the second set with a 2-0 lead, but this time Petkovic fired back to stop the bleeding, breaking back and holding to level it out at 2-2. Garcia, a regular feature in the doubles draw, was deadly at the net and with her forehand, closing out the match at 6-4.
Petkovic’s second gave her plenty of trouble – she hit 10 double faults during the match – and Garcia masterfully exploited the weakness.
“That’s one where I was looking to improve, to put the pressure on my opponent, especially on her second serve,” Garcia said after the match. “She did some double faults so I tried to put a bit more pressure for those free points.”
In the second quarterfinal of the afternoon, Sara Errani came back from a set to down to defeat the resurgent Madison Brengle, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
More to come…
WTA Insider David Kane | World No.2 Angelique Kerber took some time to unwind in the city that started it all for the Australian Open champion.
KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier 5
Prize Money: $2,517,250
Draw Size: 56 main draw (8 byes)/32 qualifying
Qualifying Dates: Friday, February 19 – Saturday, February 20
First Day of Main Draw: Sunday, February 21
Singles Final: Saturday, February 27, NB 6.00pm AST
Doubles Final: Saturday, February 27, 3.30pm AST
MUST FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@QatarTennis – official tournament handle
Get involved in conversations with the official hashtags, #QatarTotalOpen and #WTA.
TOURNAMENT NOTES:
· Defending champion Lucie Safarova returns to action after missing the start of the season with a bacterial infection.
· The only other former winner in the draw is Simona Halep, who triumphed in 2014. Former finalists Svetlana Kuznetsova (2004, 2007), Caroline Wozniacki (2011) and Angelique Kerber (2014) have also made the trip to Qatar.
· Dubai finalists, Sara Errani and Barbora Strycova, have both entered Doha. The only players to have completed the Dubai-Doha double are Justine Henin (2007) and Martina Hingis (2001).
· For the complete draw click here.
WILDCARDS:
Eugenie Bouchard (CAN), Fatma Al Nabhani (OMA), Cagla Buyukakcay (TUR)
WITHDRAWALS:
Serena Williams (flu), Maria Sharapova (left forearm), Peng Shuai (right hand), Irina-Camelia Begu (right knee), Camila Giorgi (right knee), Alizé Cornet (low back), Mona Barthel (illness)
Sara Errani has Thursday’s shot of the day at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
It’s another milestone week for the WTA with Serena Williams hitting 157 consecutive weeks at No.1, passing Martina Navratilova for the second-longest streak at No.1 in WTA history.
Williams’ streak began in 2013 after defeating Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Total Open; the American hadn’t been ranked No.1 in over two years after a foot injury and pulmonary embolism left her very career in question. Overcoming incredible adversity, a near-perfect 2012 season the the stage for the now-21-time Grand Slam champion to take back No.1 from Victoria Azarenka just over three years ago; she hasn’t reliquished the top spot since.
During this latest reign at No.1, Williams has won six major titles at all four Grand Slam tournaments – including two French and US Open titles – and remains one major victory away from tying Steffi Graff, who not only holds the Open Era record at 22 Grand Slam titles, but also has the longest streak for consecutive weeks at No.1 (186 weeks).
Sara Errani takes on Barbora Strycova in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
How well did Monica Puig do in the WTA Frame Challenge? Can you do better? See for your self – right here!