Serena: Martin Luther King Jr. On Twitter?
Serena Williams discusses what civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr would have been like on Twitter at her Australian Open post-match press conference.
Serena Williams discusses what civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr would have been like on Twitter at her Australian Open post-match press conference.
Watch Dominika Cibulkova’s practice session at the Australian Open.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova served out the upset over No.11 seed Elina Svitolina, while CoCo Vandeweghe recovered from a late break to defeat Eugenie Bouchard in Melbourne.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Six-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams breezed into the second week Down Under, defeating countrywoman Nicole Gibbs, 6-1, 6-3.
“I feel like I have been able to do pretty good,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I have been doing the things I have been doing in practice, and hopefully I can build up on this.
“That’s all I want to do.”
On RLA now #Serena fighting for a place in the 4R #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/HMb4sxOs5r
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2017
While Serena was celebrating her 19th anniversary of the first time she played on Rod Laver Arena (1998, against sister Venus), Gibbs was not only making her debut on Melbourne’s biggest court, but she was also in the midst of a career-best result Down Under – knocking out No.25 seed Timea Babos and Irina Falconi earlier this week.
The former World No.1 came into Saturday’s match well-tested with wins over a pair of former Top 10 players in Belinda Bencic and Lucie Safarova, and was in imperious form from start to finish.
“I was so pumped up going against my first two opponents, but I think that helped me out today. She started out really, really well, with a lot of energy.”
Hitting 17 winners and four aces during the 63 minute match, Serena came to net 13 times, winning 12 of those points. Though she was broken in her first attempt serving for the match, the experienced American booked her spot in the next round shortly thereafter, reaching the second week in her last nine appearances in Australia.
Looming in the next round is No.16 seed, Czech veteran Barbora Strycova.
“I have seen her play a lot. She’s always playing. Venus has played her a few times. I saw her play in Sydney. She’s super fit. She has a good game. She’s very aggressive, so that would be nice to play.
“I don’t have anything to prove in this tournament here. Just, you know, doing the best I can.
“Obviously I’m here for one reason. But at the end of the day, this is all bonus for me and I look forward to playing her. I’m ready for her.”
The 2016 Fed Cup heroine won a string of points in the second set of her match against No.21 seed Caroline Garcia, recovering from a 5-3 deficit to win, 6-2, 7-5.
“I won like 16 points from losing 3-5, 15-40,” Strycova said in her post-match press conference. “I didn’t even count and my coach told me so. I was kind of in a zone, so I was very happy about my performance.
“If it’s Serena, I’m looking forward to that match. That’s why you train. That’s why you work hard, to play these matches on these stages and against the best one.”
The 4R awaits @serenawilliams at the #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/1kOSJ3t2lF
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2017
After beating Garcia, Strycova played an interesting guessing game up in the Twitter Blue Room, guessing the identity of several tennis-themed stuffed animals:
.@BaraStrycova joins us in the Twitter Blue Room #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/oCew6EvCkP
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2017
MELBOURNE, Australia – No.7 seed Garbiñe Muguruza moved confidently into her first Australian Open quarterfinal with a straight-set win over Sorana Cirstea on Sunday.
Breaks at the start of both sets sent Muguruza on her way to a 6-2, 6-3 win and a meeting against CoCo Vandeweghe.
Muguruza fell at the last 16 in both 2014 and 2015, but never looked in danger of suffering another disappointment, making light of her ongoing leg injury to strike 18 winners in little over an hour on court.
The ups and downs of previous rounds were conspicuous by their absence as the Spaniard hit the front early and rode this momentum all the way to the finishing line.
“I am very happy. I went through the match very concentrated, looking to play positively,” Muguruza said. “Was an important match for me. A couple of times in the last three years, I’ve lost in this round. Was the first time I go through. I’m in the quarterfinals. So I’m very excited about that, and I’m still excited!”
Muguruza is arguably playing her best tennis since winning Roland Garros last spring. But with the World No.1’s conqueror up next, she insists a repeat result is still some way off: “I think it’s a very different surface. It’s already a long time since that tournament. I feel that’s very far away. Honestly, I would not compare the level.
“I’ve played CoCo a couple of times. It’s 1-1 head-to-head. She’s a tricky player. She has a lot of power, full shots, serve, everything. She can play very well.”
ZHUHAI, China – Asian No.1 Zhang Shuai has received a wildcard for the second edition of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
The wildcard is result of a highly impressive campaign, which has seen Zhang fly up the rankings. This week, the 27-year-old upset Simona Halep and Samantha Stosur en route to the quarterfinals of the China Open, a result which guarantees she will break into the Top 30 in Monday’s new rankings
Zhang, who contemplated walking away from tennis 12 months ago, began the season ranked No.133. However, at the Australian Open she ended her long-running Grand Slam hoodoo by making it through qualifying and into the quarterfinals.
The Chinese player’s sole WTA singles title came three years ago in Guangzhou, but she has threatened to add to her collection in recent weeks, reaching the semifinals in Seoul and Tokyo, following an encouraging third-round run at the US Open.
“We are delighted to announce Zhang Shuai as our singles wildcard at this year’s Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai,” Peter Johnston, the Tournament Director of Huajin Security WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai 2016, said. “She has been in fantastic form this year and throughout her career has been a great ambassador for women’s tennis in China. I am sure the fans in Zhuhai are going to welcome her here to see her compete against the best of the best on the WTA Tour.”
Zhang was equally excited about the opportunity: “It’s an honor to be awarded the wildcard for 2016 Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, especially as a Chinese player. I’m very happy to get to play in my homeland in front of all Chinese fans. I heard that last’s first edition of WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai was a great success. I can’t wait to play 2016 WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai and meet the fans from Zhuhai there!”
MELBOURNE, Australia – The second week continues at the Australian Open. On Day 8, can No.2 seed Serena Williams and No.5 seed Karolina Pliskova book two of the four remaining spots in the quarterfinals?
We preview all the day’s biggest matchups right here on wtatennis.com.
Monday, Fourth Round
[2] Serena Williams (USA #2) vs [16] Barbora Strycova (CZE #16)
Head-to-head: Serena leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Neither Serena nor Strycova have dropped a set en route to the second week.
Serena Williams saw her hopes of reclaiming World No.1 brighten when defending champion Angelique Kerber went out at the hands of CoCo Vandeweghe on Sunday. But before she can think of returning to the top of the WTA rankings, she’ll have to get past a fiery veteran in Barbora Strycova, who is in the fourth round of the Australian Open for a second straight year.
Strycova roared back from a 5-3 deficit in the second set, and will be looking to pull of the biggest upset of her career in her first encounter with the 22-time Grand Slam champion since 2012.
Serena has already dispatched former Top 10 players Belinda Bencic and Lucie Safarova along the way; can she continue to improve as Grand Slam No.23 draws closer?
[5] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #5) vs [22] Daria Gavrilova (AUS #26)
Head-to-head: Pliskova leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Pliskova is aiming for her second straight (and second career) Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Brisbane International champion Karolina Pliskova remains undefeated for the season, and takes on another young hopeful in Daria Gavrilova. The Aussie reached the fourth round Down Under for the second year in a row, winning a three-set thriller of her own against Timea Bacsinszky.
Pliskova showed few signs of vulnerability in her first two rounds, but found herself on the brink of defeat against Latvian youngster Jelena Ostapenko, who served for the match in the final set. Fresh off an early pick for best match of 2017, the No.5 seed is back in the second week of a major tournament and will look to widen her head-to-head advantage against Gavrilova, against whom she’s never dropped a set.
The 22-year-old has tended to save her best tennis for her adopted home soil; can she stun Pliskova and earn a career-best Grand Slam result?
Around the Grounds…
No.9 seed Johanna Konta renews her rivalry with No.30 seed Ekaterina Makarova, who pushed the Brit to an 8-6 final set at this very tournament one year ago. A battle of underdogs completes the fourth round line-up as qualifier Jennifer Brady takes on ageless wonder Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who earned her best-ever result at the Australian Open at 34 years old.
The doubles tounament also continues in Melbourne, with No.2 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova taking on Apia International Sydney champs Timea Babos and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, while top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic face No.13 seeds Katarina Srebotnik and Zheng Saisai in the third round.
BEIJING, China – Johanna Konta upset Madison Keys to reach the final of the China Open and become the first British player in 32 years to reach the Top 10.
Watch live action from Beijing on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
This summer in Montréal, Konta had the chance to reach the Top 10 only to slip to a surprise defeat at the hands of World No.121 Kristina Kucova. However, this time she rose to the occasion magnificently, withstanding a mid-match comeback from Keys to complete a 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-4 win.
“I’m definitely enjoying my time here. It’s my first time in Beijing and I hope to play many more times here. It’s an amazing atmosphere, such a beautiful stadium, it’s a real pleasure to play here,” Konta said in her on-court interview.
Keys had produced one of the performances of her career 24 hours earlier to defeat Petra Kvitova, but failed to scale those heights against Konta, committing 47 unforced errors in their two and a half hours on court. Nevertheless, she still had her chances and looked to be headed for victory when she skipped around a return to break in the first game of the deciding set.
Instead it was Konta that took charge, drawing level immediately and threatening further breaks. Keys’ serve bailed her out on several occasions, but she finally buckled at 5-4 to send Konta into her first Premier Mandatory final.
“I don’t really think there was a secret [to winning],” Konta added. “She’s such a high-quality player, has such a weight of shot -I’m pretty sure I was cleaning the back of the court there! I just tried to run down as many balls as I could and tried to take the chances I got.”
Konta can now look forward to a meeting against 2011 Beijing champion Agnieszka Radwanska.
“It’s really special. As I said I’m just enjoying being here and trying to prolong it as long as possible and I feel very blessed to be coming back tomorrow for the final.”
On Monday she will also become the 121st different player to reach the Top 10 since the WTA Rankings were introduced on November 3, 1975. She is the fourth Briton to achieve the feat, following in the footsteps of Virginia Wade, Sue Barker and, most recently, Jo Durie (August, 1984).
No.5 seed Karolina Pliskova ended home hopes at this year’s Australian Open with a comfortable win over Daria Gavrilova.
Oediv siht ni no gniog s’tahw tuo erugif uoy nac? Sreyalp ruo morf egassem laiceps a raeh ll’uoy nac uoy fI…