Tennis News

SHENZHEN, China – Defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska eased into the Shenzhen Open quarterfinals with a quick-fire win over Sorana Cirstea on Tuesday.

The previous evening Radwanska had come perilously close to a shock defeat against wildcard Duan Ying Ying, but endured no such scare this time around, wrapping up a 6-0, 6-3 victory in an hour and 19 minutes.

“After a match like yesterday, there’s always less pressure today because you know you could have gone home already,” Radwanska said. “I think I was playing much better today, more confident and everything was smoother on court and that’s why the score was like that.”

Radwanska and Cirstea have known each other since their early teenage years, and were meeting each other for the eighth time in the professional ranks. After cantering through the opening set, Radwanska found herself trailing 3-0 in the second. And she as forced to delve into her bag of tricks to avoid falling further behind before steadying the ship to chalk up a sixth win over the Romanian.

Cool as you like from @ARadwanska to save break point! pic.twitter.com/LMMCCpjaNJ

— WTA (@WTA) January 3, 2017

“I know Sorana for a long time, since junior days, so of course it’s different than when you play someone for the first time. Her ranking was up and down for a long time, but I know it doesn’t matter what her ranking is she can play very good tennis – she hits the ball very hard from both sides – and I prepared for that.

“The first set I was a bit lucky – it could have been a totally different score – and in the important moments I was taking my chances, and didn’t let go. At the beginning of the second set I lost some concentration, but it’s good that I came back.”

In the last eight, Radwanska will meet Alison Riske, whom she defeated in last year’s final. Riske was equally impressive in her 6-1, 6-1 second-round victory over Tsvetana Pironkova.

MONTRÉAL, Canada – Home favorite Eugenie Bouchard begins her Rogers Cup challenge against 2012 semifinalist Lucie Safarova, while Simona Halep looks to continue her recent good form when she takes on the dangerous Daria Gavrilova.

Tuesday, First & Second Round

Central
Lucie Safarova (CZE #28) vs. Eugenie Bouchard (CAN #42)
Head-to-head: Safarova leads 1-0
On Tuesday evening, Eugenie Bouchard will make her first appearance in her hometown since a humbling defeat to Shelby Rogers two years ago. Her opponent will be Lucie Safarova, who, despite slipping from her Top 10 perch has been showing signs lately of a return to form.

Laid low at the start of the year due to a bacterial infection, Safarova did not win her first match until the Prague Open in April. She went on to lift the title in the Czech capital and since then has continued along the road to recovery. Likewise, Bouchard is on the comeback trail following her well-documented struggles in 2015.

Older and wiser, the Canadian No.1 now feels better equipped to handle the weight of expectation: “I have the same excitement I had going into this Rogers Cup as I did in 2014, and I do feel a lot of attention and pressure and expectation no matter what my ranking is right now. But I do feel I’ve adopted a better attitude towards it, in a sense that I’m more relaxed. In 2014 I was a little overwhelmed, because it was very crazy.”

The two have met once before, also coming on Canadian soil, Safarova winning in three sets en route to the Québec City title back in 2013.

[5] Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs. Daria Gavrilova (AUS #45)
Head-to-head: tied 1-1
Following an injury-riddled start to the season, Simona Halep has been one the WTA’s most consistent performers in recent months, winning 18 of her past 21 matches.

The last five of these came in front of her home fans in Bucharest, where she collected a 13th career title. On Tuesday, the tennis world will find out whether the Romanian can carry this form across the Atlantic and repeat the type of tennis that took her to last year’s Rogers Cup final.

“The more matches I play it helps me get confidence and get used to the pressure,” Halep told wtatennis.com. “I have this tournament, I have Cincinnati, so I think I have enough – I’m also playing doubles here – time to be ready for US Open.”

Under the tutelage of Nicole Pratt, Halep’s opening opponent, Daria Gavrilova, is developing the type of all-court game capable of troubling anyone on tour. Halep should know, having already lost to her this season, at the same stage of the Internazionali BNL D’Italia in Rome.

Stat to watch: Gavrilova has only lost one of her four matches against Top 10 players in 2016.

Also on court…
Sandwiched between the above matches on Central will be Roland Garros champion Garbiñe Muguruza’s return, taking on the big-serving Naomi Broady. Over on Banque Nationale No.10 seed Madison Keys meets Wimbledon semifinalist Elena Vesnina, before Johanna Konta, fresh from victory in Stanford, faces Bouchard’s 2014 conqueror Rogers.

MONTRÉAL, Canada – No.6 seeded Venus Williams extended her perfect record against Barbora Strycova after sailing past the Czech in straight sets to earn a spot in the third round of the Rogers Cup.

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Williams enjoyed a successful start after the quick turnaround from the Bank of the West Classic last week in Stanford, three time zones away from Montréal. While her last encounter with the tricky Strycova was a nearly-three hour, three set battle, today’s encounter went decidedly smoother for the American as she wrapped up the 6-3, 6-0 match in just 58 minutes.

“It was definitely more straightforward I think than all of our other matches,” Williams said after the match. “I didn’t mind that, especially after playing a lot last week, just to be able to come out and hopefully advance to the next round.

“It’s been intense. Usually I don’t play this much back-to-back. But I knew what I was going to do going into the year, what it was going to take. I never sign up for anything that I don’t think I can achieve.”

Strycova seemed to struggle under the balmy conditions after a tightly drawn first set. Her unforced errors count climbed to 36 – Williams struck 19 – and her frustration mounted as she brought up only one break point in the match even while the American struggled with her serve in the second set. Williams broke three times to zoom through the second set and into the third round.

“I had issues,” Williams admitted after the match. “I don’t like to really get into, you know, what’s going down. But I had some issues. I definitely do like to serve a lot bigger.”

“I hope to be better for the next match.”

Next up for Venus Williams is young American Madison Keys, who battled past Madison Brengle 6-4, 6-3 for a spot in the third round.

Also looking for a spot in the last 16 are No.7 seed Roberta Vinci and No.12 seed Petra Kvitova, who were both put through their paces on their way to the third round. Vinci battled back from a set down in an all-Italian derby against Camila Giorgi before advancing, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, while Kvitova overcame a surging Andrea Petkovic in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.

Follow all the action from Day 3 of Montréal at the WTA Insider Live Blog!

MONTRÉAL, Canada – Kristina Kucova’s fairytale run continued in Montréal, where she fought back from a set down against home favorite Eugenie Bouchard to reach her first Premier-level quarterfinal at the Rogers Cup, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Watch live action from Montréal this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

“It’s unbelievable, I’m very happy,” said Kucova, currently ranked No.121. “Also I’m very tired. But it’s a very good feeling.This is my best moment so far in my tennis career.”

Starting out the match, though, it didn’t look as bright for the Slovakian qualifier as she went down a double break against a Bouchard bolstered by her home crowd. Although she would go on to lose the set 6-3, Kucova showed her grit in the final two games of the set as she fought off five break points before bringing up three of her own.

Dropping the first set has turned out to be a good omen for Kucova as both of her previous main draw matches in Montréal have gone to three sets – against Yanina Wickmayer and then against Carla Suárez Navarro.

“I must give credit to my fitness coach because I feel very good on the condition preparation,” Kucova explained after the match. “I changed fitness coach in the beginning of the year. We worked very hard.

“I feel now on the court that when it’s coming to the third set, I still have energy for that.”

Kucova brought all that energy into the latter stages of the match, where she was able to pounce as Bouchard’s trusty forehand began to repeatedly sail out. The Slovak’s signature two-handed forehands and backhands kept her shots well-disguised, often leaving the Canadian wrong-footed. Now able to read Bouchard’s game and having adjusted to the conditions – a balmy night match on the stadium court, in front of a roaring Canadian crowd – Kucova quickly turned the tables to take the second set.

“I just felt I maybe panicked a little bit, tried to finish the points too soon,” Bouchard said of her dip after the first set. “She was getting a lot of balls back.

“I think it would have been better if  I was just a bit calmer mentally. But it happens and I have to learn how to deal with this.”

Kucova kept her momentum going in the third set, where she picked up the crucial break in the sixth game for a 4-2 lead before closing out the match after more than two hours. She struck 16 winners to 28 unforced errors, while Bouchard hit 45 winners and 68 unforced errors.

Up next for Kucova – who is on track to break the Top 100 after reaching her career best result – is British No.1 Johanna Konta. The Brit dispatched lucky loser Varvara Lepchenko 6-3, 6-2 to reach her sixth quarterfinal of 2016.