Miami: Muguruza Interview
An interview with Garbiñe Muguruza after her third round win at the Miami Open.
An interview with Garbiñe Muguruza after her third round win at the Miami Open.
BEIJING, China – Unseeded and looming at the China Open, BNP Paribas Open finalists and Wimbledon semifinalists Karolina Pliskova and Julia Goerges recovered from a second set hiccup to score their first win over No.7 seeds Martina Hingis and CoCo Vandeweghe, 6-3, 4-6, 10-8. The win assured Pliskova of her qualification at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global in both singles and doubles.
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“I’d beaten Hingis just once, and we lost to them in Cincinnati. We’re really happy with the win; the super tie-break was tough,” Pliskova said after the match.
“It’s amazing; I’m already there for singles, so it’ll be great to be there in doubles as well.”
Pliskova and Goerges enjoyed a strong start before the former doubles No.1 rebounded with her new partner and fellow US Open semifinalist.
“I think overall, it was a good match with some good parts from both of us,” Goerges explained. “There were some sloppy games where they really gained confidence. We lost some tight points, but luckily won the first set on a deciding point; it was really a key to staying in the match because we’d really lost momentum.
“The second set, we were down 3-0 right away; we somehow came back but couldn’t manage to break CoCo’s serve again because she was serving pretty big. The match tie-break was up and down; we were 2-5 down, then 8-5 up.
“We served pretty big with two aces, which help in a match tie-break. We’re pretty happy to get through.”
For Goerges, it will also be her first appearance at the WTA Finals, a welcome surprise for a team comprised of two singles specialists.
“It’s very exciting; I must say! We didn’t plan it, because it was our first year playing together. We said we’d only play around 10 tournaments, and to qualify with eight pretty decent results is pretty special for us.
“Kaja will be going there for singles as well, but for me, it’s amazing to go to Singapore. It’s always been a dream, either in singles or doubles – hopefully one day I’ll get to go for singles too – but it’s exciting and a nice way to end the season.”
Goerges and Pliskova rounds out a stacked field full of talented teams; click here to learn more about the elite eight!
Garbiñe Muguruza takes on Nicole Gibbs in the third round of the Miami Open.
An interview with Elina Svitolina after her win in the round of 16 of the China Open.
Angelique Kerber had Saturday’s shot of the day at the Miami Open.
Agnieszka Radwanska takes on Caroline Wozniacki in the third round of the China Open.
Fed Cup stalwarts Barbora Strycova and Karolina Pliskova clinched an unassailable 3-1 lead for defending champs Czech Republic over Spain.
Here’s a full run down of the World Group I ties as they unfolded on Day 2:
?? is into the #FedCup semis! It won in front of its fans who always make a huge difference & are the 5th team member! #WeAreCzechRepublic pic.twitter.com/SR3qIncW4K
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 12, 2017
Czech Republic 3-1 Spain
Pliskova kicked off the first reverse singles rubber against Garbiñe Muguruza after both emerged victorious in their opening matches on Saturday.
Playing at home in Ostrava, Pliskova had plenty of reason to feel confident after winning four of her last five matches over the reigning French Open champion.
After an hour on court, the Czech powerhouse put down the hammer on Muguruza, winning almost twice as many points and breaking serve five times for a 6-2, 6-2 win.
“My tennis was much better than it was yesterday so I enjoyed it more today,” said last year’s US Open runner-up. “I think she [Muguruza] doesn’t like a fast game because she likes to dictate.
“I was serving well and you cannot do much about it if someone is serving well.”
#CZEESP @BaraStrycova celebrates after sealing ??'s place in the 2017 #FedCup semifinals pic.twitter.com/nxqluv1spZ
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 12, 2017
Next up was Strycova, who played a critical role in clinching the Czech team’s third straight Fed Cup title over France. Up against Lara Arruabarrena, the veteran smacked a whopping 33 winners to just 21 unforced errors to assure victory with a 6-4, 7-5 triumph.
“This one was very tough for me,” Strycova said after the match. “I was leading 5-2 and two match points; I felt like I wasn’t doing anything wrong, but I couldn’t take the extra step. I tried some different things at the end and it worked!”
“I’m very glad that we got through,” remarked Czech captain Petr Pala. “Even in the first match the score looked quite easy but it was quite tight in the beginning and Karolina put in a great performance and showed she is a great Fed Cup player.
“The second match was tighter. Barbora was using the crowd and the crowd helped us a lot. It wasn’t an easy decision for us to play her today because normally she would play doubles.”
Standing between the Czechs and a fourth straight final will be either the USA or Germany.
BELARUS WINS!!! Aryna #Sabalenka defeats #Krajicek 76(5) 64 and ?? is into the #FedCup semifinals for the first time in its history! pic.twitter.com/kTkFmwOsYq
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 12, 2017
Switzerland 3-1 France
Timea Bacsinszky turned the tables on St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy champion Kristina Mladenovic to help lead Switzerland into a second straight Fed Cup semifinal.
#SUIFRA @TimeaOfficial knows how to handle pressure on-court, but how will she deal with our reporter @eliweinstein's quickfire questions? pic.twitter.com/Vesy4uGoY9
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 12, 2017
Bacsinszky recovered from a tumble to keep Mladenovic from a second straight win over the weekend with an impressive 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-5 win to make the Swiss team anything but neutral.
“I looked really unlucky this week with the medical timeouts, but I fell and injured my knee,” she said after the match. “That took me away from tennis for three months last year and so I needed an extra check. In the moment, it’s tough becuase you care about your health, see the whole year and don’t want to be injured. But I’m ok.
Leading 5-2 in the final set, Mladenovic quickly leveled the decider but the Olympic Silver medalist closed the door in front of her home fans.
“I was just telling myself how privileged I am to play a match like this, and wasn’t focused on who was going to win. I’m just so lucky to be playing tennis in front of my country, carrying the Swiss flag.
“It could have gone either way because she played so well at the end. But we both deserved to win because it was such high quality.”
In the critical fourth rubber, Belinda Bencic dismissed substitute Pauline Parmentier, 6-3, 6-4, to book an encounter against surprise semifinalists, Belarus.
#emotions ?????? pic.twitter.com/1OvyN5q92f
— Swiss Tennis (@swiss_tennis) February 12, 2017
Belarus 4-1 Netherlands
In a battle of underdogs teams, Belarus roared through the final three rubbers of the tie oust the Netherlands for an emphatic win in Minsk.
After Kiki Bertens helped level the tie on Saturday, Aliaksandra Sasnovich stunned the 2016 French Open semifinalist, 6-3, 6-4 to turn the tie on its head.
#BLRNED #Sasnovich takes the opening set 63 against #Bertens! Can she push on and give ?? a 2-1 lead in the tie? pic.twitter.com/oSQirdlgZq
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 12, 2017
Armed with the momentum, Belarus played Aryna Sabalenka, a 19-year-old playing in just her second Fed Cup tie – and only her second singles rubber. Recovering from her loss to Bertens, Sabalenka dispatched Michaella Krajicek, 7-6(5), 6-4 to clinch her country’s first semifinal in Fed Cup history.
BELARUS WINS!!! Aryna #Sabalenka defeats #Krajicek 76(5) 64 and ?? is into the #FedCup semifinals for the first time in its history! pic.twitter.com/kTkFmwOsYq
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 12, 2017
More to come…
An interview with Svetlana Kuznetsova after her fourth round win at the Miami Open.
An interview with Elina Svitolina after her win in the quarterfinals of the China Open.
Preview the action at the Qatar Total Open in Doha, where 470 ranking points are at stake for the winner.