Tennis News

KATOWICE, Poland – Former World No.10 Dominika Cibulkova overcame a tight opening set and tricky opposition in 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone to reach the semifinals of the Katowice Open, 7-5, 6-1.

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The 2014 Australian Open finalist had never lost to Schiavone in three previous encounters, but the Italian veteran had enjoyed a solid week in Katowice, taking out Alizé Cornet in straight sets on Thursday. Schiavone edged ahead 4-2 in the first set but only won two more games from there. It was a particularly solid second set from Cibulkova, who converted all three of her break point chances and clinched her third WTA semfinal of 2016 in just over an hour and 15 minutes.

“I wasn’t as aggressive as I could be at the beginning, and I think this suited her,” Cibulkova said after the match. “My coach just told me to play my game and be much more aggressive, to go for my shots and I think this settled me down. It was a close first set and once I got this it changed the match.

“I lost the first game, but I knew that nothing bad was happening. I started to get going and then it was 3-1 to me and then we had a long game for I think 4-1. Then I think she started to get nervous a little bit and was going for her shots a lot more. This is a type of game that I like to play, so she was making it easier for me.”

Standing between Cibulkova and a second final of the season is Pauline Parmentier; the 30-year-old Frenchwoman dismantled hometown favorite Magda Linette, 6-2, 6-4 to improve her head-to-head to 3-0 against the Pole.

Earlier in the day, Qatar Total Open finalist and No.3 seed Jelena Ostapenko won a battle of big-hitters by taking out No.7 seed Timea Babos, 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3. Surviving the opening set in a tie-break, Ostapenko lost serve three times to see her lead evaporate, but took better initative in the decider to earn her best result since her breakthrough week in Doha.

Camila Giorgi played the longest match of the day to reach a third straight Katowice semifinal, overcoming a second set hiccup to defeat 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4, in two hours and nine minutes. Giorgi dropped just four points behind her first serve in the deciding set and aims to return to the Katowice final for a third straight year – finishing runner-up to Cornet in 2014 and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in 2015.

Last summer in Washington DC, Sloane Stephens finally delivered on her boundless potential, lifting her maiden WTA title – and the monkey from her back. Intent on making up for lost time, the young American’s mantelpiece is starting to get rather crowded.

After beating Elena Vesnina in the final of the Volvo Car Open, Stephens now has three titles to her name in 2013 alone. The silverware collected in Auckland, Acapulco and Charleston has taken Stephens to the brink of a return to the Top 20.

The 23-year-old’s success in Charleston led to a jump from No.25 to No.21 in the rankings – her highest position since the summer of 2014. And with relatively few points to defend in the build-up to the French Open she has a good opportunity to improve upon her previous best raking of No.11. 

If she is rise further still, the next challenge is replicating this Charleston form at the majors. During Stephens’ initial breakthrough on tour, she suffered from the opposite problem – in 2014 she reached the fourth round or better at all four Grand Slams, only to flatter to deceive away from the big stage. 

Stephens’ victim in the final, Vesnina, is no stranger to major success, lifting the French and US Opens in doubles. Despite turning 30 later this year, the Russian has no intention of becoming a doubles specialist, something she proved with wins over Belinda Bencic and Sara Errani this past week.

This run resulted in a rankings jump from No.85 to No.51. Throw in her impressive showings in Doha and Miami, and Vesnina’s ranking has improved over 60 places this year.

Vesnina, though, is not the only player on the charge:

Dominika Cibulkova (+15, No.53 to No.38): Dominika Cibulkova has had a number of false dawns since returning from a serious Achilles injury last year. In Katowice, she finally made her big statement. After a first-round scare against Carina Witthoeft, the Slovak improved with each match, outplaying Camila Giorgi in the final to lift her first title since 2014.

Yulia Putintseva (+8 No.61 to No.53): Yulia Putintseva learnt her trade at Moscow’s legendary Spartak club, and she now looks ready to follow in the footsteps of her fellow alumni, such as Anna Kournikova, Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina. Wins over Venus Williams and Sabine Lisicki helped the Kazakhstani to the quarterfinals, the 100 points picked up in Charleston also takes her to a career-high No.53 in the rankings.

Francesca Schiavone (+11, No.101 to No.90): One of Cibulkova’s victims, Francesca Schiavone, played some typically imaginative tennis to win a couple of rounds and continue the momentum heading into the clay court season.

Pauline Parmentier (+12, No.113 to No.101): While Parmentier was unable to maintain her electric start to defeat Cibulkova in the Katowice semifinals, victories over Magda Linette, Naomi Broady and defending champion Anna Karolina Schmiedlova ensured the tournament remained a highly encouraging one. She is now within touching distance of the Top 100 for the first time since last May.

BOGOTÁ, Colombia – After a rainy day in Bogota, defending champion and No.2 seed Teliana Pereira fell to Argentine qualifier Catalina Pella 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) in the first round of the Claro Open Colsanitas.

Pereira, who became the first Brazilian to win a WTA title in 27 years when she won her first singles title here in 2015, seemed primed to make another deep run when she quickly took the first set off her 23-year-old opponent. But a three-hour rain delay halted the match just as Pella won the second set, breaking up Pereira’s rhythm and allowing Pella the time to find her nerve.

“I was so, so, nervous,” Pella said after the match. “It was really tough also because she has a lot of experience – I don’t.”

After coming back from the delay at 2-1, 40-40 in the final set, Pella’s inexperience showed as she hit a double fault to give Pereira a break opportunity, which the Brazilian took handily. Pella later squandered another lead – this time at 5-3.

“I felt totally paralyzed,” Pella said. “My mind was telling me that I should do the same, stay the same, but my legs and my body were empty. I was just too nervous.”

Despite her lack of experience on the big stage, No.274-ranked Pella kept her cool when it mattered most, dominating Pereira in the tiebreak and ousting the defending champion in two hours and twenty minutes.

The rest of the seeds in action advanced to the next round: No.5 Irina Falconi, No.6 Tatjana Maria and No.8 Anna Tatishvilli eased past their first round opponents in straight sets.

However, the extended rain delay left several matches rescheduled, including the struggle between No.1 seed Elina Svitolina and Alexandra Panova. After dropping the first set to the Russian 7-5, Svitolina came roaring back in the second. She looked set to stage her comeback, rolling to a 5-1 lead, when the rain halted play.

STUTTGART, Germany – 2015 US Open finalist Roberta Vinci served out a tense first round encounter with former Top 10 player Ekaterina Makarova on Wednesday, dispatching the Russian, 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4.

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Vinci and Makarova had played five times before, with the latter winning their most recent encounter at last year’s Australian Open, but it was Vinci who took the early initiative following three straight service breaks to start the match, racing out to a 5-2 lead in the first set tie-break and converting her first set point shortly thereafter.

“It was a tough match; Makarova is a great player, a difficult player with the left hand,” Vinci said after the match.

The second set featured six service breaks as Makarova recovered from losing serve to start to take a 5-3 lead in the hopes of leveling the match, ultimately breaking the No.6 seed to even out the contest.

“The court is fast, and I was a set and 3-1 with a lot of chances to go 4-2, but I lost the second set. The beginning of the third, I stayed focused, didn’t think about the second set, played aggressively because the court is fast, and it’s not easy to defend.”

Undaunted, Vinci promptly took an early lead in the decider and never looked back, clinching the win on her ifrst match point. In all, the match was quite high-quality affair, with each woman hitting over 40 winners and just around 30 unforced errors; the Italian veteran provided the cleaner hitting of the two with 44 winners to 31 unforced while Makarova struck 40 winners and 33 errors of her own.

Vinci also struck six aces to her unseeded opponent, who couldn’t find any aces in her arsenal on Wednesday, striking three double faults instead.

Cheeky cross-court backhand winner from @Roberta_Vinci! #PTGP https://t.co/93BoP5nmUg

— WTA (@WTA) April 20, 2016

“I’m happy because I played two bad matches in Fed Cup, so now here it’s nice to come and win this match.”

Vinci next plays 2011 champion Julia Goerges; the ASB Classic finalist outfoxed Alizé Cornet, 6-4, 6-0, to reach the second round in one hour and 16 minutes.

Karolina Pliskova won a more topsy-turvy firts round on Court 1; playing last year’s French Open finalist Lucie Safarovs, Pliskova edged past her countrywoman, 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-5, in well over two and a half hours.

The big-serving Czech dynamo snuck off with an opening set of 12 straight service holds, and held off a late surge from Safarova, who won her first set of 2016 and recovered from a 5-3 deficit in the final set.

In the last match of the day session, Andrea Petkovic outsteadied Kristina Mladenovic to win a fourth straight encounter agains the French youngster, 6-2, 6-4. Completing the round of 16 line-up, Petkovic will next take on top seed Agnieszka Radwanska.

First set ? @JuliaGoerges

Wins the opening set vs Cornet 6-4! #PTGP https://t.co/9HvNtA26Hi

— WTA (@WTA) April 20, 2016

ISTANBUL, Turkey – Cagla Buyukakcay kept alive hopes of a Turkish champion at this year’s TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup with a comfortable second-round win over Sorana Cirstea.

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Prior to this year Buyukakcay had never won a match in eight appearances at her home event, but after dispatching Cirstea, 6-4, 6-2, she has now registered two in three days.

“Yes it´s my best result in my country. I am very excited,” Buyukakcay said. “I think that at the beginning it´s tough, your people want you to play well, you feel the pressure. I handled it well in my first match here, and today I was focused on what I had to do well and not on the result.”

A flying start saw Buyukakcay rattle off four unanswered games, and despite surrendering one of these breaks she hung on to take the set. She made a similarly bright start to the second, breaking in the opening game when a Cirstea backhand found the top of the tape.

Cirstea had her chances to get back in the match, yet was left to rue a succession of spurned break opportunities, as Buyukakcay closed out the match to the delight of her compatriots in the crowd.

“I wanted to play well from the start and I think I managed to do it for the entire match,” Buyukakcay added. “I think that the difference was my mental approach and also because I feel well physically. I am also more experienced now, I have played the tournament for eight years now, and that has helped me to play better.”

Meeting Buyukakcay for a place in the semifinals will be No.6 seed Nao Hibino, a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 winner over qualifier Reka-Luca Jani.

“I’ve nothing to lose tomorrow against Hibino. She is a great player, Top 100, and I am enjoying how I am playing and want to focus on tomorrow and play well.”

Meanwhile, in the top half there were wins for Anastasija Sevastova and Kateryna Kozlova. Sevastova began Thursday’s play by ousting No.8 seed Johanna Larsson, 6-4, 6-3.

“It was a very tough match but a very high-quality clay court tennis match,” Sevastova said. “It was very close and only decided on a few points. It’s a good start of the clay season for me and I’m looking forward to my next match and will try to do my best.”

Kozlova was equally impressive in dispatching No.4 seed Kirsten Flipkens, 6-3, 6-4. “It was not an easy match because Kirsten doesn´t give you any rhythm so that was difficult. But the key for me was to stay calm. I am very happy to reach my win because it´s my first quarterfinal on clay. I feel good and hope to continue to do well,” Kozlova said.

STUTTGART, Germany – No.5 seed Petra Kvitova is into her first WTA semifinal of the year at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix after overcoming a mid-match surge from Garbiñe Muguruza to advance 6-1, 3-6, 6-0.

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Kvitova grabbed the early break at 3-1 and roared ahead to a commanding lead. The combination of Kvitova’s tricky lefty serve and her powerful groundstrokes leaving Muguruza struggling to find her timing against the Czech, who broke once more to allow Muguruza just one game in the opening set. 

Muguruza changed tactics heading into the second set, playing more aggressively and taking away the pace from Kvitova’s heavy shots. A huge hold at 2-1 did wonders for Muguruza’s confidence as well, when she saw a healthy lead be wiped away but still fought off a break point to hold serve. Muguruza broke Kvitova’s serve for the first time at 4-2, winning the last four of five games to take the second set.

Despite all of the momentum swinging to the Spaniard’s favor, Kvitova – a two-time Grand Slam champion – drew from her long experience with three-set matches. She dominated in the final set, settling into the same strategy she used in the first set and keeping Muguruza back on her heels as the Spaniard’s errors – and double faults – piled up. A seventh double fault from Muguruza on match point sealed the match for Kvitova, sending the Czech into the semifinals.

“I think it’s very tough because I wasn’t playing bad, you know,” Muguruza said of the final set shutout. “I was running and trying to fight for every point but she was coming with great shots.

“And then, I was like, I’m playing good and it’s like 3-0, 4-0, 5-0. So, I know with this kind of players, with Petra if she’s playing good, she hits everything.”

Kvitova did the most damage on her serve – she hit six aces and no double faults, and only faced one break point all match long. She also kept her high-risk game in check, hitting a total of 29 winners and 21 unforced errors to the Spaniard’s 17 and 25.

Kvitova is set to face Angelique Kerber in the semifinals; the German eased past Carla Suárez Navarro 6-2, 6-4 in the day’s first quarterfinal.

“I lost to her in Singapore, unfortunately. I know how dangerous she is,” Kvitova said of the matchup. “She is playing a good game right now as well, but I’m in the semifinal now, I have three matches. I think that can help me with the feeling of the balls and everything. Lefties will be different for sure but I’m used to it.”