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Insider Draw Analysis: Miami

Insider Draw Analysis: Miami

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

1. Can Serena get back to her winning ways in Miami?

It has been an odd start to Serena Williams’ season. On one hand, she is clearly playing at a superior, more consistent level of tennis than her near-historic 2015 season. On the other han,d she has yet to win a title, losing back-to-back finals for the first time since the summer of 2004 – getting nipped at the finish line by Angelique Kerber at the Australian Open and Victoria Azarenka last week at the BNP Paribas Open.

There are legitimate explanations for both losses. Kerber played the match of her life in Melbourne, while the emotions from playing an Indian Wells final for the first time 15 years clearly led to her nervy, tense play against Azarenka. In other words, they weren’t “bad” losses. But they were losses nonetheless, and for a perfectionist like Serena, they were tough to swallow.

Click here to check out the Miami Open draw.

Now she returns to the tournament she has dominated like no other. An eight-time champion at the Miami Open, the familiar surrounds of Crandon Park may just be what Serena needs to get her hands on her first trophy since the Western & Southern Open. She leads the top half of the draw with Petra Kvitova as a potential quarterfinal opponent and Agnieszka Radwanska and Simona Halep – both of whom she beat in Indian Wells – looming as potential semifinal opponents. She opens against either Misaki Doi or Christina McHale.

2. Can Vika go coast-to-coast?

Not since Kim Clijsters in 2005 has a player completed the Indian Wells-Miami double. With her sterling 16-1 record in 2016 – and riding a high after winning Indian Wells – Azarenka has a chance to cap off her resurgent spring hardcourt season if she can win her third Miami title. Drawn into the Spanish Quarter anchored by No.4 Garbiñe Muguruza and last year’s finalist Carla Suárez Navarro, she’ll play either Catherine Bellis or Monica Puig in the second round.

Simona Halep

3. Can Simona Halep build on her Indian Wells form?

After a season start marred by injury and illness, Halep looked well on her way to regaining her form in Indian Wells, where she rolled into the quarterfinals without losing a set before bowing out to Serena. The No.5 seed is once again in Serena’s half but landed in Radwanska’s quarter. She could open her tournament against the surging Daria Kasatkina – who is making her Miami Open debut – and could face Sam Stosur and Sloane Stephens before the second week.

If Halep and Radwanska can take care of business in the first week, their projected quarterfinal would be a must-watch clash. Radwanska, the new World No.2, has made the semifinals or better at every tournament she’s played this year.

4. Can Garbiñe Muguruza navigate her tough draw?

The top players will breathe a sigh of relief once Dominika Cibulkova gets her ranking up and is no longer unseeded and looming. The Abierto Mexicano Telcel finalist narrowly lost out to Radwanska in three sets in the second round in Indian Wells and could be Muguruza’s opening round opponent in Miami (Cibulkova opens against Johanna Larsson). From there, the Spaniard’s draw could see her face one of either Kristina Mladenovic, Nicole Gibbs, or Yulia Putintseva, before a potential fourth round match against Victoria Azarenka. That’s a very tricky first week for Garbi.

Angelique Kerber

5. Can Angelique Kerber hit the ground running?

Ranked No.3 but seeded No.2 this week – the draw was conducted before the new rankings came out on Monday – Kerber is about to embark on a stretch of tournaments in April in which she has a load of points to defend on clay. Miami offers her an opportunity to pick up some points to ease that pressure (she lost in the third round last year). The problem for her is she’s on a three-match losing streak, having won just one match at Fed Cup since her Australian Open win.

Kerber could open her tournament against the highest-ranked unseeded woman in the draw in World No.32 Barbora Strycova, who has had a fine start to the season. The Czech veteran beat Muguruza in Australia, made the biggest final of her career at the Dubai Duty Free Championships, and beat Andrea Petkovic en route to the fourth round in Indian Wells, where she retired due to illness. Kerber could also face Indian Wells semifinalist Karolina Pliskova – the pair had two thrilling three-set encounters last year, which Kerber won – with No.7 seed Belinda Bencic a possible Round of 16 opponent.

6. Can the teenagers do more damage?

In addition to main draw entries by Bencic and Kasatkina, the Miami Open awarded wildcards to five teenagers – Naomi Osaka, Sofia Zhuk, Paula Badosa Gibert, Beatriz Haddad Maia, and CiCi Bellis – all of whom are worth keeping an eye on this week.

Bencic is trying to get back on a roll since cracking the Top 10 in February. She’s been drawn into Kerber’s quarter and will play either a qualifier or 18-year-old wildcard Paula Badosa Gibert, the reigning French Open junior champion. Meanwhile, Kasatkina could face Halep in the second round, a fun potential match between two strong clay courters. Also notable: Jelena Ostapenko is the No.1 seed in qualifying. If she makes it through, watch for her placement in the draw.

Naomi Osaka

Japan’s Osaka, 18, faces a qualifier in the first round. Get past that and she would face No.14 seed Sara Errani. At No.104 a win could put her into the Top 100 for the first time.

In addition to Badosa Gibert, another reigning junior champion is in the mix in 16-year-old Zhuk. The feisty Russian won junior Wimbledon last year and will face Zhang Shuai in the first round. Keeping Zhuk company in the 16-and-under category, Bellis will try her luck against Monica Puig in the first round.

Lastly, in the “What are the odds?” match-up of the first round, it’s an all-Brazilian battle between 19-year-old Haddad Maia and the veteran Teliana Pereira.

7. Can Caroline Wozniacki snap out of her slump?

Down to No.25 in the rankings – her lowest since July 2008 – the Dane has yet to get her season into gear. She has beaten just one Top 50 player this season and has taken losses to No.30 Sloane Stephens, No.76 Yulia Putintseva, No.66 Dominika Cibulkova, No.118 Elena Vesnina, No.84 Heather Watson, and No.69 Zhang Shuai.

Drawn into Serena’s quarter, she’ll open against either Vania King or a qualifier, and is projected to face Elina Svitolina and Petra Kvitova before a potential meeting with Serena.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

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Flipkens Halts Robson Comeback

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MIAMI, FL, USA – Kirsten Flipkens weathered a strong start from wildcard Laura Robson to ease through to the second round of the Miami Open.

Watch live action from Miami this fortnight on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Robson, whose bright career has been derailed due to injury woes since 2014, has been edging her way back onto the WTA in the past few months, and she put up a strong challenge against the No.65-ranked Flipkens, a finalist earlier this year at the Abierto Monterrey Afirme.

The 22-year-old Brit came out firing, grabbing an early break to race ahead to a 3-0 lead and allowing Flipkens to win just two points. The Belgian finally got on board and after three consecutive breaks, she held serve to level the score at 4-4. They hung tight and, despite Robson bringing up three set points, Flipkens held her nerve to send it into a tiebreaker.

This time it was Flipkens who grabbed an early lead to go up 3-0, and though Robson was starting to mount a comeback, Flipkens fired off five straight points to take the opening set.

After seeing her monumental effort come up short, Robson had nothing left in the tank to withstand Flipkens’ second-set dominance, and the Belgian reeled off four straight games to clinch the match 7-6(4), 6-2.

Earlier in the day, No.664-ranked Peng Shuai, whose career was similarly derailed due to injury, is back to her winning ways after a win over Van Uytvanck 6-3, 7-5. It’s Peng’s first victory since February 2015 in Dubai, and just her second singles match since last year’s French Open.

Nicole Gibbs and Madison Brengle, a pair of Americans, also advanced to the second round in straight sets. Brengle dispatched the always dangerous Camila Giorgi 6-4, 6-3, while Gibbs backed up her Indian Wells dream run with a straightforward win over Yulia Putintseva, 6-4. 6-2.

Also through to the second round are Zarina Diyas, Lesia Tsurenko, Margarita Gasparyan and Danka Kovinic. 

 

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Insider Doubles Take: Miami Heat

Insider Doubles Take: Miami Heat

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Santina In The Sun: Co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza come into the Miami Open at their most vulnerable since their partnership began, having won just won match since their winning streak of 41 straight came to an end at the Qatar Total Open. Santina took their first straight-sets defeat since last summer at the BNP Paribas Open, falling in the second round to doubles threats Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva.

King and Kudryavtseva once again find themselves in Santina’s quarter of the draw, but the good friends will have to first get past nemeses Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova. Runners-up in Indian Wells, Goerges and Pliskova have ended both of King and Kudryavtseva’s quarterfinal runs at the Australian Open and again last week in the California desert. With both potential quarterfinal opponents for Hingis and Mirza, the reigning Wimbledon, US Open, and Australian Open champions will have their work cut out for them as they attempt to regain their stunning ascendency ahead of the clay court season and win their fifth title of 2016.

Team Bucie Reunites: Bethanie Mattek-Sands just won her first title since last summer’s Rogers Cup with CoCo Vandeweghe in Indian Wells – taking out No.2 seeds and sisters Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan along the way – but while her countrywoman rejoins regular partner Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Mattek-Sands will be joined by former partner Lucie Safarova in Miami. Mattek-Sands and Safarova were the stories of the start of 2016, getting halfway to the Calendar Year Grand Slam with wins in Australia and Paris.

Lucie Safarova, Bethanie Mattek-Sands

Safarova’s injuries and illnesses – most recently a battle with reactive arthritis – have kept the team apart, but No.3 seeds have a chance to reassert their presence in the hyper-competitive doubles field with a first round encounter with American wildcards Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens. Likely looming in the second round would be Daria Kasatkina and Elena Vesnina, the very team who ended Santina’s streak in Doha. Drawn into the same quarter as Australian Open finalists Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, a lot will depend on the state of Safarova, who only returned to tennis a few weeks ago.

Second Chances: Timea Babos was already starting fresh in 2016 when regular partner Kristina Mladenovic opted for an all-French pairing with Caroline Garcia, but the Hungarian youngster was left adrift when she ended what was meant to be a season-long partnership with Katarina Srebotnik after the Australian Open. In search of a full-time partner, Babos had success with Julia Goerges through the Middle East Swing, and kept up her winning ways when the German reunited with Pliskova by partnering Yaroslava Shvedova, who finds herself available as partner Casey Dellacqua continues her comeback from a late-season concussion.

Karolina Pliskova, Julia Goerges

Reaching the semifinals in Indian Wells, Babos and Shvedova narrowly lost to eventual champs Mattek-Sands and Vandeweghe in a match tie-break; seeded No.4 in Miami, they are projected to face No.6 seeds Garcia and Mladenovic in the quarterfinals, but could play Dellacqua and new partner Samantha Stosur in the second round. A back injury to Garcia took the French Connection out of the California desert before the doubles event began; how will the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships runners-up bounce back in Florida?

Wildcard Watch: Stephens and Keys are not the only singles players to give Miami a go. Simona Halep, who enjoyed a mixed doubles run at last year’s US Open with Horia Tecau, has entered the fray with fellow former BNP Paribas Open champion Daniela Hantuchova. They will play a hotly contested first round match with Doha finalists and Dubai semifinalists Sara Errani and Carla Suárez Navarro.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Elena Vesnina

Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – who narrowly missed out on qualifying for last year’s BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore present by SC Global and started the season with Vesnina – also earned a wildcard into the doubles draw, playing Chinese No.8 seeds Xu Yi-Fan and Zheng Saisai. Finally, youngsters Monica Puig and Heather Watson are ones to watch as potential second round opponents against Santina, should they get past Margarita Gasparyan and Monica Niculescu.

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Insider Podcast: Coast To Coast

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MIAMI, FL, USA – This episode comes to you from Miami, Florida where the Miami Open is already underway. Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen is joined by WTA Web Editor David Kane to discuss Victoria Azarenka’s big win over No. 1 Serena Williams at the BNP Paribas Open. What does the win mean for Vika and how well does it set her up for the rest of the season? You’ll also hear from Vika herself in our Champion’s Corner.

Then David and Courtney turn to the Miami Open and take a deep dive into the draw. Will Serena, who is 0-2 in finals this year, turn things around on familiar turf to win her 9th Miami title? Can Azarenka become the first woman since 2005 to complete the Sunshine Double and win both Indian Wells and Miami? Or is there a spoiler lurking in the draw?

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or any podcast app of your choice. Reviews are always helpful so if you like what you’re hearing leave us a review. You can also get new episode alerts by following us on Twitter @WTA_Insider and we’ll of course post the podcast on the WTA website at wtatennis.com.

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Serena Survives McHale In Miami

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MIAMI, FL, USA – Top seed Serena Williams nearly saw her quest for a ninth Miami Open title end in her opening match against Christina McHale, who saved a match point to force a deciding set; Williams nonetheless prevailed with her 12th ace, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.

Watch live action from Miami this fortnight on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Looking to shake off a runner-up finish at the BNP Paribas Open by playing in one of her favorite tournaments, Williams looked well in control through most of the match, taking a set and a break lead, serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set. But McHale – who has enjoyed a solid start to 2016, including a doubles title in Hobart and a singles win at an ITF Challenger in Maui – ended up saving a match point to break back and win four games in a row to level the match.

“She definitely started to fight harder, and is clearly capable of playing great tennis,” Serena told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “She showed it today.”

Despite not playing her best tennis, the 21-time Grand Slam champion still managed 33 winners on the day and two more breaks of serve to clinch her spot in the third round, where she will play Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas, who took out No.31 seed Daria Gavrilova earlier in the day.

Before the start of the tournament, Williams penned an op-ed in the New York Times about how much she loves the Miami Open, which may yet move from its present location in Crandon Park. The American reaffirmed her love of what she considers a second home in front of an adoring crowd.

“Miami is such a special place for me. I live so close to here; in fact I was just home yesterday,” she said with a laugh. 

“When I was younger, I used to watch so many people play here. I know a lot of the kids have that same experience. I grew up wandering the grounds like everyone here, and now I’m playing here and it’s always such a special moment.”

Williams’ good friend and former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki earned a much-needed win over a resurgent Vania King, 7-5, 6-2, setting up a third round encounter with No.12 seed Elina Svitolina. Svitolina recently added 2016 International Tennis Hall Of Fame Inductee Justine Henin to her coaching staff, and earned a solid win over Australian Open quarterfinalist Zhang Shuai, who beat Wozniacki last week in Indian Wells, 6-3, 6-0.

Abierto Monterrey Afirme champion and wildcard Heather Watson allowed just four points from American Sloane Stephens in their second round match, winning 11 straight games to improve their head-to-head to 5-2 with a 6-3, 6-0 victory. France’s Caroline Garcia survived a topsy-turvy afair against No.21 seed Andrea Petkovic, earning the upset, 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(2).

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Muguruza Digs Deep To Deny Cibulkova

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MIAMI, FL, USA – Garbiñe Muguruza produced a thrilling final set comeback to defeat Dominika Cibulkova in an absorbing second-round encounter at the Miami Open on Friday.

Watch live action from Miami this fortnight on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Two crushing returns helped Muguruza claim the decisive break in the penultimate game before she calmly wrapped up a 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-5 victory.

“The match today was so tough but I’m so happy I’ve been through this against Dominika,” Muguruza said. “She played very well and I think it was a tricky second round because she’s really tough. But I’m very happy that I fight all the match – even though I lost the first set hard – and I was able to come back.”

Earlier this month in Indian Wells, Cibulkova came within a point of upsetting World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska. While she did not come quite so close to victory against Muguruza, she will be no less disappointed at her failure to get over the line once again.

After splitting two high-quality sets, Cibulkova looked to be heading for the third round when she surged 3-0 ahead in the decider. However, she was unable to hold onto the momentum, sending a backhand long to surrender her serve in the fifth game.

Considering her struggle for form this year, Muguruza showed tremendous poise with the match in the balance. Trailing 5-4, the Spaniard refused to wilt, a couple of pin-point serves fending off the danger. The same could not be said for Cibulkova in the next game, Muguruza jumping on a couple of short second serves to strike decisively.

Muguruza faces wildcard Nicole Gibbs in the third round. Gibbs reached the fourth round in Indian Wells and continued her superb spring by beating No.27 seed Kristina Mladenovic, 6-2, 6-4, earlier on Friday.

“I don’t know her that well. But she’s here because she’s playing great and feeling at home because she’s from the US. I’ll just do my stuff, prepare and fight until the last point,” Muguruza added.

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Makarova Topples Kvitova In Lefty Duel

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MIAMI, FL, USA – Ekaterina Makarova dug deep to topple fellow lefty Petra Kvitova and grab the first spot in the fourth round at the Miami Open in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.

Watch live action from Miami this fortnight on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

In tennis, as in many sports, left handers typically have a unique advantage over the right-handed population – but what about if the opponent is another lefty, and a two-time Wimbledon champion at that?

“Of course it’s always tough to play against a lefty… we’re not used to it!” Makarova said. “Petra’s such a great player, it was really tough to play against her. I’m just really happy I came through.”

The No.31-ranked Russian found herself in trouble early on, quickly going down 1-4 against Kvitova’s strong groundstrokes and tricky lefty serve. But Makarova put her problem solving skills to the test and adjusted her game, jamming Kvitova with body serves to cut off her deadly angles.

The tactic worked and Makarova rattled off five straight games to come back and win the opening set, Kvitova’s frustration mounting along with her unforced error count. Kvitova hit 26 winners to 24 unforced errors in the match in contrast to Makarova’s tidy 9 to 9.

With the pressure coming steadily from the other side of the net, Kvitova’s woes continued into the second set. Makarova grabbed a crucial break at 3-2, and kept her lead to take the match in an hour and a half.

“Today was actually really tough to play, especially against Petra and in these conditions,” Makarova commented in her post-match interview, referring to Miami’s heat and humidity.

“She started unbelievable – a lot of winners. I just kept going and going, wanting to hit longer points and just being on the court and enjoying it.”

Makarova now meets Elina Svitolina, the winner of a titanic struggle against Caroline Wozniacki in Saturday’s evening session.

In a match lasting 20 minutes shy of three hours, the result was in the balance until the very end. Wozniacki came within two points of victory, only to see Svitolina produce a final flourish to prevail, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(1). 

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Three tournaments into a comeback from wrist surgery, Madison Keys isn’t one to back down from a challenge.

Keys took a tough three-set loss to fellow American and Charleston native Shelby Rogers on Wednesday at the Volvo Car Open and, as has become her post-match ritual, began exposing a series of abusive tweets she received from cyberbullies on her official Twitter account.

“I can take criticism,” she writes in one response. “Telling me to go die is taking it too far.”

The American often uses her signature mix of emojis and sarcasm to disempower the insults hurled her way, but Keys isn’t just doing this for herself. A FearlesslyGIRL Ambassador, Keys aims to take a global stand against cyberbullying, shining a light on something that fellow athletes often suffer through in silence.

“I’ve taken a stance where we can have different opinions,” Keys said this week in Charleston’s All-Access Hour, “but as long as we can talk respectfully and we can have a conversation that doesn’t turn into an argument, I think that’s a big thing that I’m trying to do.

“The world has gotten very negative in very different ways and especially on social media, when you click on something, the comments are individually very negative.

“I think trying to bring more positivity to the world is very important.”

Read more from Keys below and check out the trailer for her Tennis Channel special airing Saturday, April 8 at noon ET.

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