Cincinnati: Muguruza vs. Pavlyuchenkova
Garbiñe Muguruza takes on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round of the Western & Southern Open.
Garbiñe Muguruza takes on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round of the Western & Southern Open.
21-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams has hardly taken a vacation after making a run to her seventh Australian Open final. Following a three-set defeat to Angelique Kerber, Williams joined Billie Jean King and Condoleezza Rice at last weekend’s NFL Women’s Summit.
Speaking with Robin Roberts, the American spoke of the pressure of being one of the top female athletes in the world, but ultimate how she hoped to use her influence to impact the greater good.
“I don’t play tennis for recognition; being recognized is not important,” she said. “What matters is how I can help people.”
True to her word, Williams is helping people in a big way this week, flying down to Jamaica to help build the Salt Marsh Primary School. With the aid of Helping Hands Jamaica and her own foundation, the World No.1got her hands dirty along with volunteers, proving that “with great power indeed comes great responsibility” – to borrow a Spiderman reference Williams herself used in her conversation with Roberts.
Enjoyable work. Serena Williams Fund's 3rd school- this time we partnered with Helping Hands Jamaica to build the Salt Marsh Primary School #swf #education
Posted by Serena Williams on Monday, February 8, 2016
Angelique Kerber takes on Kristina Mladenovic in the second round of the Western & Southern Open.
DOHA, Qatar – World No.6 and two-time Doha champion Maria Sharapova announced her withdrawal from the Qatar Total Open due to the left forearm injury she has struggled with since the beginning of the season,
“Unfortunately, I will not be able to play the Qatar Total Open because of my left forearm injury,” Sharapova said in a statement. “I would like to wish the tournament and all the great fans in Doha a great week of tennis and I hope to see them next year.”
The Russian was forced to pull out of the Brisbane International back in January due to this same injury, but appeared to rebound in Melbourne, reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open before falling to World No.1, Serena Williams.
“I’m going to go and take care of my forearm first,” Sharapova said after the loss, aware of the importance this season – being an Olympic year – presents. “I think that’s really important. I think this will be a time to just get myself ready for a long year.
“I don’t see myself playing anything before Indian Wells.”
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her win in the third round of the Western & Southern Open.
An interview with Laura Siegemund after her win in the first round of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Highlights from third round action at the Western & Southern Open.
Sisters and doubles partners Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan are Taiwan’s highest ranked team. They’re No.5 on the Road To Singapore.
Hsieh Su-Wei, Taiwan’s No.1 singles player – was also in attendance.
No.1 seed Venus Williams made her highly anticipated Taiwan Open debut on Wednesday.
The Taiwan Open welcome dinner featured live entertainment…
…as well as a Chinese calligraphy lesson from a local artist.
He showed players how to use a traditional Chinese calligraphy brush.
The players wrote messages to the people of Taiwan who were affected by an earthquake before the start of the tournament.
The messages – written in English and Chinese – expressed encouragement and solidarity.
The Chan sisters, Williams and Hsieh were invited to the stage to show off their creations.
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her win in the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open.
KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan – Venus Williams overcame a rocky start to defeat Anastasija Sevastova and book her place in the semifinals of the Taiwan Open.
Watch live action from St. Petersburg & Kaohsiung this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
By her own admission, Williams did not know much about Sevastova’s game heading into their quarterfinals clash. However, it quickly became apparent that she would not have things all her own way.
Sevastova, playing with the carefree abandon of an overwhelming underdog, surged into a 5-2 lead. The top seed had no intentions of going quietly, turning the match on its head with a run of five straight games and fending off two set points along the way.
This took the wind from Sevastova’s sails, Willims breaking three more times to ease over the finishing line, 7-5, 6-2.
“I didn’t think about the set points, I just tried to not lose the set,” Williams said. “But she was playing really well and was very determined so it wasn’t easy to play her. From there, I think the experience really helped me and there was a lot of pressure on her.
“I just tried to do whatever was winning! If it’s not working you change it – so that’s the strategy.”
Meeting her for a place in the final is No.3 seed Yulia Putintseva. At last year’s Wimbledon, Putintseva ran Williams close, eventually being edged out after two tight sets.
“We’ve played a couple of times. The last time she played really, really well. I have a lot of respect for her and her game and I hope tomorrow to have a faster start. But no matter what happens I hope to play a good match.”
On the other side of the draw Hsieh Su-Wei kept alive hopes of a home champion when she outfoxed Russian prospect Elizaveta Kulichkova, 6-2, 6-0, to set up a meeting with No.2 seed Misaki Doi.
“I had played her twice and won in three sets, so we knew each other well,” Hsieh said. “She’s aggressive and I tried to take a relaxed approach today. I just focus on myself. Fans are so enthusiastic and I believe they make the sun shine down on me!
“In the semifinal I will play Misaki Doi. I haven’t played her for a while, but she’s been quite consistent. I just returned to Top 100, so I won’t judge myself too high or too low. I just wanted to be myself and do my best.”