Tennis News

PARIS, France – Look at the current WTA Top 30. Scan the list. Then pick the player with whom you’re the least familiar. Chances are, it’s No.28 Irina-Camelia Begu.

That could change over the course of this Paris fortnight. Begu is floating in Garbiñe Muguruza’s quarter of the draw and plays CoCo Vandeweghe in the second round at Roland Garros on Wednesday. Two of her four wins over Top 10 players have come in this month alone; if that form holds, she’ll be into the second week in Paris for the first time in her career.

The 25-year-old Romanian may not have the results of Simona Halep, the prodigious history of Sorana Cirstea, or the unique game-style of Monica Niculescu that makes you sit up and take notice. But heading into Roland Garros this year, no player on tour has posted more consistent results than Begu. After marking the fourth round of the Miami Open, she followed it up with a quarterfinal run at the Volvo Car Open, quarterfinals of the Mutua Madrid Open, and capped it all off with her career-best result, the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where she lost to eventual champion Serena Williams.

Having reached a career-high ranking at No.25 last year, Begu looks well on her way towards besting that number in what is shaping up to be a career year. It’s quite a turnaround considering her 2016 took a major blow right when it started. Begu injured ligaments in her knee in her first tournament of the season at the Shenzhen Open, where she was forced to retire in the second round.

“I was upset,” Begu told WTA Insider. “I was working really hard in the off-season and the first tournament I got injured. It was a really difficult moment for me.

“I didn’t practice for four weeks and I started slowly. It’s tough because in four weeks you lose your muscles and the first few days I couldn’t walk. It was tough but when you go back on court you try and enjoy every moment, because you never know when something like this is coming.”

Begu returned to the tour in March at the BNP Paribas Open; in her third tournament back she made the Round of 16 in Miami.

“In Indian Wells and San Antonio I didn’t play my best,” Begu said. “I was just trying to get confident back on court. But in Miami I was fighting for every ball. It doesn’t matter if I was feeling bad or if I had some problems. I was trying to fight for every ball. When you’re working hard everything is coming back.”

Once the tour moved to clay, her favorite surface, Begu flourished. After a bit of a sputter in Rabat, taking a 6-3, 6-4 loss to No.139 Richel Hogenkamp, Begu quickly got on track.

“After Rabat, I played so bad in that match and I was so disappointed with my attitude I had with my game,” Begu said. “One day I was only thinking about the match and what I did wrong and I was so disappointed with me. My coach was helping me a lot that day because I was so down. He was trying to help me to get through the moment and I went to Madrid and I was practicing so hard. He said to me if I work hard again and just be confident, the results will come again.”

Sure enough, the results did. She’s since scored wins over No.4 Garbiñe Muguruza and No.5 Victoria Azarenka. She admits her quick success after injury has been a surprise.

“Even if you feel good on the surface there’s so many tough players and every round is difficult,” she said. “It’s not like I feel so good on clay and I can beat everyone. No, I have to work for every match. I feel confident, but still I have to work for every match.”

Quick Hits with Irina-Camelia Begu…

WTA Insider: How did you first start playing tennis?
Begu: I was three-and-a-half years old and my aunt was a tennis coach and tennis player, Aurelia Gheorghe (playing for Germany, Gheorghe reached a career-high No.326 in 1989). I went with her to the practice and I was just [picking up] the balls. Then I started to pick up the racquet. It was funny in the beginning. The racquet was bigger than me.

When I was seven years old, when I started the real practice in Romania, my family and my aunt told me you only play if you want. You don’t need to play for us. I was so motivated. I really enjoy playing tennis. I still do. It’s a job and sometimes you want to sleep more, but still I enjoy it so much.

WTA Insider: When did you realize you might be able to make a living as a tennis player?
Begu: Maybe when I was 14. I was winning tournaments when I was 10 years old, but you never know what is happening. Tennis is an expensive sport and you have to play more tournaments, and it’s expensive.

When I was 14 I played the European Championships in Armenia and I made the semifinals and final, and then I start to think a bit that I can be a good tennis player. After, they picked eight girls and eight boys and the ITF made a one-month tour with these players. It was really nice for me. It was a really nice experience.

WTA Insider: Do you remember any of the other players who were on that ITF tour with you?
Begu: Grigor Dimitrov and Ricardas Berankis, I remember.

WTA Insider: What’s your favorite tournament?
Begu: I cannot say only one tournament. So I think Indian Wells, Rome, and Acapulco.

WTA Insider: What’s your favorite shot?
Begu: Backhand down the line.

WTA Insider: Favorite surface?
Begu: Clay.

WTA Insider: Where is your favorite place for a holiday?
Begu: I love the Maldives. It’s amazing. For me there’s nothing better than the Maldives.

WTA Insider: Do you prefer TV or movies?
I watch TV only when it’s tennis. I have a lot of movies on my laptop.

WTA Insider: Who do you like to watch when you’re watching tennis on TV?
Begu: I love Federer and I admire a lot Rafa. These are the two players I really enjoy when they are playing.

WTA Insider: What do you do to take your mind off tennis?
Begu: When I’m at home I really enjoy being in my kitchen and being in my house. I love being there. I go to the theater, I go to watch some movies at the cinema, go with some friends outside. I’m not so long at home, but when I am at home I like to do these things.

WTA Insider: Which of the four Slams would you like to win the most?
Begu: Australian Open.

WTA Insider: Really? Not Roland Garros?
Begu: It’s strange, no? I like clay court, but Australian Open is my favorite Grand Slam. The conditions and the organization is so good there. They make us feel so good there. Maybe it’s also because it’s the first tournament of the year. It’s nice.

WTA Insider: What’s your first memory of playing Roland Garros?
Begu: I was playing in qualies when I was 18 or 19 and I lost in the last round 6-4 in the third. It was tough. I was a bit disappointed but at the same time I was happy I could reach the third round of qualies.

WTA Insider: What’s the best win of your career so far?
Begu: This year, beating Azarenka in Rome.

Photos courtesy of Getty Images.

PARIS, France – It was another rainy day in Paris on Day 6 at Roland Garros, but the Round of 16 is set. On Saturday, the favorites continued to deliver.

Four Americans into the Round of 16: Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and Madison Keys joined Shelby Rogers into the the fourth round on Saturday. Serena fought off Kristina Mladenovic, winning 6-4, 7-6(10) in two hours and 11 minutes in a rain-interrupted match. Venus moved her record against Alizé Cornet to 6-0 with a 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-0 win to move into the second week for the first time since 2010. Keys held off Monica Puig to win 7-6(3), 6-3 to make her first Round of 16 in Paris.

“It was always a goal mine to make second week, and then once I made second week the first time it became achievable, and then it became something that I wanted to do all of the time just to have the consistency,” said Keys. “Where I may not have had the consistency outside of Slams, I had it in the Slams.

“I just think it’s something that I’m getting more and more comfortable with. Obviously I’ve been playing well in the Slams for the past six, seven Slams that I’ve played in. I don’t think it’ll always be, Oh, I’m so happy, but right now I’m just really happy with how I’ve been doing and hope to keep it up.”

Carla Suárez  Navarro scores a big win: No.22 seed Dominika Cibulkova looked to be building a full head of steam as the tournament turned towards the second week but No.12 seed Suárez Navarro found a way to end her resurgent run on clay, winning, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 to make the fourth round for the third time in the last four years. The Spaniard appeared to injure her leg in the first set but was able to shake it off to battle for the win.

“During the first set I ran from the right side to the left side of the court, and I had the impression that I had some problems with my muscle,” she said. “But it was not a pulled muscle. And the pain vanished.”

Yulia Putintseva steamrolls through to her Round of 16 debut: Through three matches, Putintseva has lost just 10 games, posting scores of 6-1, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 with wins over Aleksandra Wozniacki, Andrea Petkovic, and Karin Knapp. The draw didn’t offer much early resistance, especially given Petkovic’s recent slump, but Putintseva has looked ruthless. She’ll play Suárez Navarro for a spot in her first Slam quarterfinal.

Kiki Bertens wins 10 straight matches: Bertens has put in some hard yards over the last few weeks and it paid off in her marathon 6-2, 3-6, 10-8 win over No.29 seed Daria Kasatkina. The young Russian picked up a left leg injury late in the third set and could only arm in her serves, and Bertens steeled her nerves to score her 10th straight win, after winning the title last week in Nürnberg. She is into the fourth round for the second time in Paris and will play Keys.

Kristina Mladenovic credits the Serena serve: The Frenchwoman fought hard to stay in it against Serena, fighting off nine break points in the second set to get it to a tie-break. Then the rain came, and after a lengthy rain-delay at 6-6 she was faced with the prospect of coming out of the locker room to win a tiebreaker to stay in the match. She led 5-2 upon resumption but couldn’t hold off her nerves or Serena. A key forehand miss that would have given her 6-2 went wide, and Serena stormed back, finally converting her fifth match point.

“I think it was a good match, a beautiful match, as well,” Mladenovic said afterwards in French. “On both sides, I think. Sometimes there are days that she’s not really into the match or she has difficulties due to what she does, but today I think it was really difficult for both of us. I think I put out good tennis, solid, from the first to the last ball. And during the rallies I thought that ‘she was beatable.’

“But then, as I said, I told you, she’s exceptional, and her biggest strength is her serves. She hit me so much with those serves. But then I’m a bit frustrated. She’s such a great champion, and she manages to escape and find a way out with this weapon.

“Sometimes her statistical results with her serve are not as good as today, and this is what I felt today. There’s not much difference in the match. There’s just one break point. First set when we were 5-4, and then I seized this opportunity on the break point when it was 4-All, and then I took a risk and to be aggressive on my forehand where she serves really long balls in the second balls.

“But today she was so impressive with her serve. There were many games when it was 30-All, and each time it was a big first serve. And yet I think I returned quite well. This is incredible. There’s no moment when she went down. No, so on both sides it was a good fight, a beautiful fight.”

Round of 16 Set: Week 1 is in the books. Here’s how Week 2 tees up: Serena vs. Svitolina, Suárez Navarro vs. Putintseva, Bertens vs. Keys, Venus vs. Bacsinszky, Begu vs. Rogers, Kuznetsova vs. Muguruza, Halep vs. Stosur, Pironkova vs. Radwanska.

Kuznetsova tries to stop Muguruza on Sunday: The forecast doesn’t look great for Sunday, but the match of the day is undoubtedly Kuznetsova vs. Muguruza. The two have played only once, last year in Madrid, which Kuznetsova won 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 en route to the final.

The key for Kuznetsova: relax. The 2009 champion said she’s struggled to keep things in perspective this week. “I was better today because first matches I was extremely tense,” Kuznetsova said after beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. “Today I said to myself, Look, you got to get out of this tense. I got to just play my game, and whatever happens, my goal for this year was trying to enjoy the tennis.

“Since I got a bit better ranking and everything I start to be tense again, and I don’t want it to happen. I had a great nap in the locker room while the guys were playing five sets. I was great. I was feeling much better.

“So I said, Okay, I just go out there and I want to be happy. That’s the only thing I was concerned about.”

Since being taken to three sets in the first round by Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, Muguruza has been on a tear. Her last four sets: 6-2, 6-0, 6-3, 6-0. A win over Kuznetsova you would expect her to make her first semifinal in Paris.

Photos courtesy of Getty Images.

PARIS, France – The interview rooms at Roland Garros have been just as busy as the grounds through Week 1. Here are some of the best quotes from a hectic week.

“I just made it a point to play my game. Up until that point I had not been playing my game. I was playing really defensive. It’s not me. So I just wanted to be Serena out there.”

– Serena Williams on how she steeled herself for the second set tiebreaker after a long rain delay against Kristina Mladenovic.

“My youngest [sister] actually called me yesterday and I answered the phone and she was just like, ‘Where are you?’ I’m in Paris. ‘Are you in the French Open?’ Yeah, I am. ‘Oh. The teacher asked me about it and I wasn’t sure.’ Yeah, no, I’m here.

‘Paris sounds like a really good place to buy me presents.’ You know, it’s really expensive stuff so I feel like you probably wouldn’t like it. ‘No, no, I probably would.’ I was like, We’ll talk about it.

Then she said, ‘Okay. Here’s mom.’ That was the end of our conversation. (Laughter.)”

– Madison Keys reenacting a phone call she received from her sister last week.

“So Roland Garros announced my retirement, but I didn’t. So you can stand up all of you and go back to work in the office because I didn’t say that. I will announce when I will want to stop.”

– Francesca Schiavone clarifying an announcement that she had played her last match.

“It’s unacceptable really to lose ten games in a row in a match. I think that my focus a little bit was the part that let me down, the mental part. Something I’ve been working on. I had been getting better, so it’s not always going to be good.
But, yeah, I mean, I wish I would’ve done better.”

– Eugenie Bouchard after her 6-4, 6-4 to Timea Bacsinszky in the second round.

“I’m definitely disappointed and I’m definitely feeling like I should do much better. I feel like my results should be better, especially after two great weeks in Dubai and Doha. I was playing very well.

I feel like I lost a few close matches in Indian Wells and Miami, and I lost my confidence after that. Was really difficult for me to regain it. I had a couple tough draws with Madison Keys in Rome first round and Bacsinszky in Madrid, and then it’s difficult to get back in the groove.

Yeah, definitely not happy with the place I am at right now. The most important part is that I’m willing to work; I’m ready, too. I’ve been through much worse than a couple of bad results. It’s not a thing of attitude or lacking of attitude or work. It’s just a matter of lacking of confidence, and I’m ready to dig myself out of there.”

– Andrea Petkovic on her recent dip in form.

“My game actually feels good. My shots feel good. My movement feels good. So I think it hurts a bit more knowing I can play really well right now.

But I know it’s a long process and a long journey. When I restarted working with Nick, we talked about a long-term plan. Of course immediate results would be great, but it’s trying to improve over the long run to become the best player I can be.

And, yeah, so that’s talking months, a year, or more. So I have to kind of keep that in my head, that that’s the ultimate goal. But I know my game is there. If you can put it all together, immediate results are possible as well.”

– Bouchard on the long road back. She’ll be ranked outside the Top 45 after the French Open.

“I called her because I had lost seven or eight matches in a row, so I was a bit nervous. I wanted to win matches. So the problem was with me that I didn’t focus my energy correctly.

“My mind was not where it should have focused. As you said, I had tried other psychologists, but so far, I had not found the right person. But she has helped me a lot. I was going through bad moments, and she told me three, four, five things that really help me considerably.”

– Carla Suárez Navarro on working with a sports psychologist since September.

“I’m just like, I’m here to play tennis. That’s it. I’m not here to do anything else. I did have a conversation with the tour director afterwards, because I respect every person on the court and I want respect, too. I was pretty clear on that with him.”

– Venus Williams on getting a rare coaching violation.

“I think it was a good match, a beautiful match, as well. On both sides, I think. Sometimes, you know, there are days that she’s not really into the match or she has difficulties due to what she does, but today I think it was really difficult for both of us. I think I put out good tennis, solid, from the first to the last ball. And during the rallies I thought that “she was beatable.”

But then, as I said, I told you, she’s exceptional, and her biggest strength is her serves. She hit me so much with those serves. But then I’m a bit frustrated. She’s such a great champion, and she manages to escape and find a way out with this weapon.”

– Kristina Mladenovic after losing to Serena Williams in the third round.

“I was actually laying on the couch hanging out with CoCo and I was asleep. All of a sudden I heard my name on a radio. They were like, We can’t find Madison. I’m like, I’m right here. Then they were, Okay, you’re next on. Went from fourth to next. How does that work?

Once I kind of absorbed the information and had a second to process it I was really happy, just because I didn’t want to get stuck playing super late and potentially having the rain stop us.”

– Madison Keys on getting notice her third round match had been moved.

“I think that this is quite exceptional, to be able to stay at this level at the age of 36 or perhaps 35. I mean, it’s something that gets on our nerves, you know, I mean, for us. And she managed to kill me when she wanted to during the third set.

She has so much experience. She’s a great champion. Maybe she’s less consistent than before, but just a little. She’s still in the top 10. Nobody notices she’s less consistent. So you have to play full seasons. I fully respect what she does.”

– Alizé Cornet on her respect for Venus Williams.

“I think her experience is of course when she was playing on court and she understands what I feel, and that’s the main key, I think. Because for some coaches who didn’t play on such a high level, it’s tough, I think. It’s just different. It’s not bad; it’s not good.

That’s why for me it’s important to have my coach Iain, he helps me more like technical things, and she’s more on the mental thing for me. So everything worked well this period of time and in this stage. So it works now.”

– Elina Svitolina on having Justine Henin as an advisor.

“I saw Justine for the first time today. I didn’t even realize she was coaching. I was like, gosh, it’s a little bit surreal.”

– Serena Williams on seeing Justine Henin around the grounds.

“I speak with my coach before the match in the same day, not before, because otherwise I would have dreams with my opponent and it’s not good for me (laughter).

In the morning before the warmup, I speak with my coach, and he tells me what I have to do. I just put it in my game.”

– Simona Halep on how she prepares for matches.

“She just gave me the mop today. (Smiling.) That’s all I can really say. It sucks and I’m sad, but she played a good match.”

– Sloane Stephens after winning three games in a loss to Tsvetana Pironkova in the third round.

“I feel like everyone’s career has been like pretty like steady and mine has been like, What am I doing? I guess that’s just part of being an athlete, part of sports, part of growing up.

If I hadn’t won three tournaments this year I would probably be kind of disappointed. There are definitely things to be happy about with that. Hopefully during some of the majors I can get back to where I was before making the second week pretty consistently. Something I’m just going to have to work on.”

– Sloane Stephens, still trying to find consistency from tour events to Slams.

“I said to everyone after the match, I was like, Jeez, I can’t remember being so happy to win third round. Yeah, it means a lot.”

– Sam Stosur, after beating Lucie Safarova in the third round. Stosur was 3-11 against Safarova heading into the match.

“At the risk of sounding really arrogant, I kind of think that I can play with like the top-10 players, like I feel like I can play with anybody. I just have to be consistent and not freak out all the time.

I feel like I’ve got to have more strategy, because it can’t be just this one thing all the time. I feel like I do have like the strokes and the power, though. But like, please — I don’t want to sound like I’m a mean person while I’m saying this.”

– Naomi Osaka, who made the third round in her French Open debut after making the third round in her Australian Open debut.

“It’s hard to be the leader in any position, and he’s done wonderful. I think everyone enjoys working with him. I have spoken with him, too, and he takes everything into account.

It’s tricky, because there are so many players and they all need attention. Not tennis players, but, you know, the tournaments and different bodies that need — everybody needs a win. Everybody needs to walk out of the room feeling like that they got something out of it. So that’s not an easy thing to do, and he does well with it.”

– Venus Williams on WTA CEO Steve Simon.

“I’m disappointed. I can play better. But it was a wonderful moment. It was very emotional. The public supporting me helped me coming back in the match when I thought it was over. I think they believed more in me than I believed in myself.”

– Caroline Garcia, after losing to Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round.

“I haven’t put my name out there or anything like that, so it’s just my friends. So the fact that people can’t just write death threats to me after matches and stuff feels really good. I think I manage [the negative comments] pretty well. There are definitely days where I’m stronger and other days where after a tough day I’ll read them and sometimes that gets tough.

But it’s to the point where you have a tough match and you know you’re going to have a lot of horrible comments you just scroll to the top, don’t read it, close it, and don’t deal with it for a few days.”

– Madison Keys on Snapchat and social media.

Best Q&A Moments:

Q. We know that Serena has conquered the French language or done a good job. We have not really heard you speak French. Have you had an interest or not very good at it, or tell us about it.
VENUS WILLIAMS: I’ll let her do that part (smiling).

Q. Not into languages?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Actually, I am. But, you know, she’s bold, you know.

…

Q. The $64 question, how do you come down from this and focus on two days from now when you have to play that fourth round?
SHELBY ROGERS: Maybe you guys could tell me. I don’t know. (Laughter.)

…

Q. How does your sister take your success? I know you two have quite the rivalry.
NAOMI OSAKA: We had a roasting battle yesterday.

Q. How did that go?
NAOMI OSAKA: I think I won, because I kept — this is not going to make sense. But basically we were like dissing each other, and so I just kept posting pictures of her, like the most unflattering pictures ever.

Then after a while she stopped responding. I think I hurt her feelings. But, yeah, we’re still like best friends and whatever.

Q. Everyone I have talked to who knows you continues to tell me that you’re the kindest, sweetest person in the history of civilization.
SHELBY ROGERS: You’re going to make me cry.

Q. Then I’ll change gears here. Do you have any plans to become hardened and bitter?
SHELBY ROGERS: No, I don’t think I can (smiling).

…

Q. How are things with the adductor? You’ve had that so many…
MADISON KEYS: (Knocking on wood.)

Q. I’ll do that too.
MADISON KEYS: Knock on wood. Everyone knock on wood.

Q. How do you feel about that?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: About what?

Q. The match.
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: (Laughter.) I feel about everything.

…

Q. Is it tough to dig when you have grass coming next?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Well, I will dig, but maybe literally on the court. (Laughter.)

…

Q. Talk about limiting your schedule this year, is that scary as a player that plays quite a bit? When you play more you can get more points and ease the pressure a little bit. Now you play less and it’s a lot of pressure each tournament.
AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: If you ask me that five years ago I would say, Yeah, it’s very scary and I would feel weird not to play hundred matches. Here it’s different story. Like I was saying, experience is the thing, really using and making a schedule. Now to be home for two, three weeks in the middle of the season is not the scary thing anymore. Can just help you.

Sometimes I have this part of the season that I just rather practice more than playing matches and enter another tournament. So that’s what I decided to before I came here, and so far it’s working.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

Long before the Olympic tennis event kicked off in Rio de Janeiro, Venus Williams toyed with the idea of sticking around for 2020, when the Olympics moved to Tokyo, Japan.

“We have to start looking at 2020,” she said at Wimbledon when asked about her successful doubles tenure with sister Serena. “That would be impressive. If you think this year’s impressive, hold on.

“That would be a blessing if we did play. I’m so grateful for each and every time we’ve had a chance to play and qualify. It’s been beyond our dreams. It means the world to us to play together.”

Venus and Serena have been the story of Olympic tennis since the two first paired up to win gold in women’s doubles back in 2000. Since then, the sisters have each amassed quite a haul, each taking gold in singles – Venus in 2000, Serena in 2012 – and earning three golds in women’s doubles in 2000, 2008, and 2012.

She narrowly missed out on a fifth gold medal in mixed doubles, winning silver alongside Rajeev Ram in Rio.

“Tokyo is about if I want to be there,” the five-time Wimbledon winner said in August. “If I want to continue to work as hard. It’s a lot of hard work. I have to want to do the work. So we’ll see.”

Her resolve appears to have solidified even more in the off-season, discussing the possibility of playing through 2020 on a soon-to-be broadcast program on the Hallmark Channel.

“I am targeting that to see if it’s possible to play there. While you’re out there playing, I love that challenge, I love the pressure, it’s all a privilege.

“If I can be out there, I will be.”

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.