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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – Grand Slam champions abound on Day 3 of the Australian Open, with two of 2016’s three major winners – World No.1 Angelique Kerber and French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza – hoping to advance into the third round in Melbourne. We preview all the day’s matchups right here at wtatennis.com.

Wednesday, Second Round

[13] Venus Williams (USA #17) vs Stefanie Voegele (SUI #112)
Head-to-head: Venus leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Voegele won her first Grand Slam main draw match since the 2015 Australian Open on Monday (d. Kurumi Nara)

The former World No.1 was given all she could handle in a tough first round against Kateryna Kozlova, and was feeling confident after knocking out her younger opponent in straight sets.

“Girl, I don’t know,” she joked with Sam Smith during the on-court interview. “I know how to play tennis.”

She certainly proved that after holding off the Ukrainian youngster, and will try to show more of that level against Voegele, a former World No.42 who is inching closer towards the Top 100 after over two years in the wildnerness.

Venus and Voegele will open play on Rod Laver Arena, and the American will likely look to keep rallies short as the heat could possibly become a factor should the match run long.

Angelique Kerber

[1] Angelique Kerber (GER #1) vs Carina Witthoeft (GER #89)
Head-to-head: Kerber leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Kerber is trying to defend a Grand Slam title for the first time in her career.

Angelique Kerber enjoyed a strong finish to the first match in her Australian Open title defense on Monday, edging past Lesia Tsurenko, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.

“I was trying just to going for it in the third set, just trying to play my game,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I think that was the key for the match today.”

In the second round she takes on countrywoman Carina Witthoeft, whom she played twice at Wimbledon in the last two years. Their most recent encounter featured a first-set tie-break, the only set in which Witthoeft won more than one game.

Either way, Kerber won’t be taking too much into their next match.

“It’s the second round. I’m not looking too much about my opponents. I think she played a good match here. I know her very well; I think it will be a good match.

“But for me it’s important to go out there playing my match again, not thinking too much about my opponent.”

Garbine Muguruza

[7] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #7) vs Samantha Crawford (USA #162)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Muguruza shook off injury concerns in her first-round win against Marina Erakovic

The reigning French Open champion may not be at 100%, but has nonetheless channeled those niggling injuries into a glowing start to 2017, reaching the semifinals of the Brisbane International and sweeping aside Marina Erakovic in her first match in Melbourne.

“I was happy to win the first set, and then I just felt a little bit uncomfortable,” she said of her state of mind on Margaret Court Arena. “I just thought, take some precaution because of what happened in Brisbane. I took a medical timeout and became a little bit unfocused on the court. It took me a couple of games to get into the match again.”

Once she did, she didn’t let go, winning the final five games of the match, and blamed typical first-round jitters on compounding her physical concerns.

“I think this match was definitely more mental in certain situations, so I’m pretty pleased. I had to really forget about that and try to bring the best I had there.”

Muguruza next faces young American Samantha Crawford, who burst onto the scene last year when she herself reached the semifinals in Brisbane. Her own injuries have stunted her progress since, but the 2012 US Open junior champion is a clean ballstriker when playing her best.

Around the grounds…
No.11 seed Elina Svitolina opens play on Margaret Court Arena against Julia Boserup, followed by No.8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova’s second round match against Aussie qualifier Jaimee Fourlis.

Women’s doubles also gets underway on Wednesday, with top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic taking on Belinda Bencic and Ana Konjuh. Venus and Serena also debut as the No.15, and all four women in the hunt for No.1 are in action, including Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Elena Vesnina, with partners Lucie Safarova and Ekaterina Makarova, respectively.

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Keys Ends Kvitova's Run, Edges Closer To Singapore Qualification

Keys Ends Kvitova's Run, Edges Closer To Singapore Qualification

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

BEIJING, China – Madison Keys held her nerve to win a dramatic quarterfinal encounter with Petra Kvitova at the China Open on Friday.

Watch live action from Beijing on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Leading by a set and a break, Keys looked to be easing into the semifinals. However, a spirited Kvitova comeback ensured the match went down to the wire, Keys eventually closing out a 6-3, 6-7(2), 7-6(5) victory after two hours and 41 minutes.

“I think I played a pretty solid first set today, then she raised her level. I just think at the end it became a couple of points here or there. I think I got my serve back on track a little bit,” Keys said. “I mean, really, it could have gone either way. It was really close.”

Keys’ victory was all the more impressive given Kvitova’s recent form. In Wuhan, she dismantled a series of higher-ranked opponents to win her first title in 13 months, before seeing off Wang Yafan and Garbiñe Muguruza this week to extend her winning run.

In Keys, though, she found an opponent capable of matching her firepower. After the first seven games went with serve, the American carved out the first break point by whipping a forehand return onto the line. Kvitova double faulted to surrender the break and ultimately the set.

Kvitova came roaring back in the second set, recovering from 4-2 down to level the match on a tie-break. The decider followed a similar pattern, Keys making the early running only to be pegged back when the Czech won the latest baseline slugfest. This time, however, Keys refused to be overwhelmed, surviving a series of arduous service games to reach the sanctuary of a tie-break. Locked at 5-5, she finally found the knockout blow, hammering a backhand down the line before serving her way into a maiden Premier Mandatory semifinal.

“I definitely think I got frustrated. You know, it’s always tough when you’re serving for a set and you have a bad game,” Keys said. “Doing that a couple of times in a match is frustrating.

“But, you know, I think I did a really good job at staying focused and just trying to regroup and worry about the next point. You know, she made it really tough today. I’m just really happy that at the end I was able to get my serve back on track and get myself ahead in the tiebreaker.”

Keys moves on to face Johanna Konta in the semifinals, knowing that a run to the title would secure her a debut at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

“Jo is playing really well. I mean, at this point everyone’s trying to qualify, everyone’s trying to play their good tennis at the end of the year,” Keys added. “Pretty much whoever you play is going to be a tough match.”

WTA Finals: Get Your Tickets!

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – 2016 semifinalist Johanna Konta raced through a much-anticipated collision with former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, 6-3, 6-1, to return to the second week at the Australian Open.

“Against someone like Caroline, she’s not going to give it to you,” she said in her post-match press conference. “You really do have to earn it and win it till the very last point. I’m just very happy I was able to keep that pressure on.”

Konta rode a seven-match winning streak into the third round in Melbourne, having captured her second career WTA title at the Apia International Sydney last week.

“I think I had a longer streak a couple years ago. Still got awhile to go till then,” she said, referring to a 16 match winning streak she compiled in the summer of 2015 between the ITF and WTA circuits. “But I’m very pleased with how I’ve just been able to problem solve in the last matches that I’ve played, really play myself into matches where I felt I started slowly, and, like today, maintain the level.

“I’ve played against some very good players. To be able to come through that, I’m very pleased.”

Contrasted against the Brit’s meteoric rise was Wozniacki across the net; the Dane had been the model of consistency for much of the last decade before an injury-addled 2016 took her as low as No.74 in the WTA rankings.

A run to the US Open semifinal served as a springboard for the No.17 seed, who returned to the Top 20 by year’s end and was looking to interrupt Konta’s run with a big win to start the season.

The first six games were hotly contested, but each went with serve before the Brit broke through on her third break point of the opening set, winning eight straight games to take a set and 5-0 lead.

“I know this may sound like a broken record, but I do try very hard to always make sure I really take the good and the things I can improve on from every match that I play and reinvest it into the next match. Whenever a similar situation arises, I make sure that’s in my bank and I can use my experience from that.

“I think hopefully I’m getting a little wiser.”

Undaunted, Wozniacki got on the board and pushed Konta through a tense final game before the No.9 seed clinched victory in one hour and 17 minutes.

“She played really well. She served really well, returned deep. She was going for the lines. It was going in. You could see she had the confidence,” the Dane said after the match.

“I’m looking forward to the season. It’s a better start than last year. We just have to go from here, go back and grind and then come back and play again.

“There’s lots of tournaments ahead. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”

Up next for the top-ranked Brit is 2015 Australian Open semifinalist Ekaterina Makarova; the No.30 seed survived a titanic ecounter with reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion and No.6 seed Dominika Cibulkova, 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-3.

“Every time we play, we have a battle,” Konta said of her Russian rival. “I think last year was 8-6 in the third. I remember that was a high-level match from both of us. That was really a great match to be a part of.

“She had a great match against Dominika Cibulkova. Dominika is not an easy player to beat, and she was able to do that. She’s playing obviously great tennis.

“I think she really enjoys playing here. She always seems to do well on these courts. I’m looking forward to it. We’ll deal with whatever challenges come up the next day.”

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Kerber Finds Inner Peace In Hong Kong

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

HONG KONG, SAR – No player is ever happy to leave a tournament early, and Angelique Kerber – who was dumped from the China Open by Elina Svitolina – is no exception.

“It’s always tough to lose matches; it’s not so easy a few hours after,” Kerber reflected after her third-round loss. “I think I have the experience for losing matches. I know why it happened, so I will take this to the next tournament to know what can I improve and also mentally know how it feels to be top seeded in everything.”

For the World No.1, the early trip to Hong Kong has given her a bit more time in her packed schedule to recharge her batteries and take a trip to one of the region’s most iconic landmarks.

On Saturday, Kerber and her team traveled to the top of Lantau Peak to see Tian Tan Buddha (known as the “Big Buddha,” to tourists) and pay a visit to the Po Lin Monastery.

While it remains to be seen whether or not Kerber’s spiritual journey will pay off at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, it certainly made for some great photos, which the German shared on her social media profiles.

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Azarenka On Track For Sunshine Double

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MIAMI, FL, USA – Victoria Azarenka took a huge step in her journey for the elusive Sunshine Double – winning Indian Wells and Miami back to back – with a straight sets win over Angelique Kerber for a spot in the Miami Open final.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Miami right here on wtatennis.com!

Azarenka, who’s back into the WTA Top 5 for the first time since 2014, is bidding to become only the third woman to win titles in Indian Wells and Miami in the same year, a feat only accomplished by Steffi Graf (1994, 1996) and Kim Clijsters (2005).

But standing between her and the final was Kerber, a familiar foe in 2016 – this match is already their third encounter this year alone. Though Azarenka has more career wins over the German, Kerber famously snapped her streak of six consecutive losses to Azarenka in their last match on her way to her maiden Australian Open title.

Under the lights in Miami it was Kerber who was in danger early on. The match started off with three consecutive breaks of serve before Azarenka found her footing at 3-1, keeping her intensity at the max and going up 5-1. Kerber finally withstood Azarenka’s all-court assault – including a line-to-line rally Azarenka won off a drop shot on the run – to grab her first hold of the match, but it was too little too late as the Belarusian clinched the first set.

Kerber refused to wilt away in the second set, but as her level raised so did Azarenka’s. They stayed toe-to-toe and traded five straight breaks of serve, Azarenka getting the edge as she closed in on the final.

A late wobble from Azarenka almost allowed Kerber to come back and force a decider – while serving for the set up 5-4, Azarenka’s serve misfired horribly, flubbing three double faults to hand the game to Kerber. She broke right back and didn’t falter in her next service game though, and took the match 6-2, 7-5.

Awaiting Azarenka in the Miami final is Svetlana Kuznetsova, who battled past Timea Bacsinszky in the day’s first semifinal.

“We haven’t played each other in a while but I think we know each other pretty well,” Azarenka said. The two have played eight times previously, but their last encounter was more than three years ago.

She went on: “The last time we played we were both in different stages of our career so it’s interesting to see us coming back and playing such a high level of tennis. It’s gonna be tough but I’m very looking forward to this challenge.”

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