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Vesnina Puts On Clay Court Clinic

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Former World No.21 Elena Vesnina has tended to play some of her best tennis on green clay throughout her career, and this week has seen the Russian’s resurgent season hit new heights at the Volvo Car Open, overcoming some blustery conditions and an inspired opponent in Laura Siegemund to win, 7-5, 6-4, and reach the semifinals in Charleston.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Charleston right here on wtatennis.com!

“I’m really enjoying my time here in Charleston,” Vesnina told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “I love the city, the tournament, and I love this crowd! I’m playing well, even today with really tough conditions to play in.

“I was talking to myself about the wind, arguing with the wind, asking him to stop blowing that hard. It didn’t work! That’s why I had to work hard to win this match.”

Vesnina reached the final of Charleston back in 2011, and showed some of that vintage form early in the match against Siegemund as she raced out to a 4-1, double break lead. In the midst of a career-best season herself, Siegemund didn’t take the deficit lying down, eventually earning both breaks back to level the opening set at 5-5.

Undaunted, Vesnina broke once more to clinch the opening set and move out to an early break in the second. Three points from victory, Vesnina was about to put away a forehand volley when Siegemund’s hat flew from her head, causing a let to be called. The mishap led to one last surge from the German, who got within two points of leveling the second set as she did the first, but the top doubles threat weathered the storm and earned a sixth straight victory in straight sets.

“I was trying not to rush the points because I was controlling the rally,” Vesnina said, having hit 22 winners to 24 unforced errors, and venturing to net 18 times, winning 11 of those exchanges. “I was the one attacking, coming in and trying to hit aggressive from the back.

“It was a little bit tricky with the wind and after 4-1 Laura played really well, much better than at the beginning of the match. I was just trying to play and fight.

“With these conditions, it’s impossible to show your best tennis. You just have to go and fight for every point.”

Vesnina’s opponent was decided by the last match of the day, won by former French Open finalist Sara Errani, who turned around a tricky opening set to defeat Yulia Putintseva, 7-6(2), 6-1. In the meantime, the newlywed has generously fielded questions as to whether her autumn marriage to Pavel Tabuntsov has led to her uptick in form.

“[Tournament Manager] Eleanor Adams, she was like, ‘I know why you’re playing good.’ She told me this morning. I’m like, ‘Why?’ ‘Because you’re still on the honeymoon.’

“I’m like, ‘Eleanor, he’s not even here. I’m alone.’ She’s like, ‘doesn’t matter.'”

Errani appeared out of sorts to start the match, falling behind an early break and finding herself two points from a one set deficit as Putintseva served for it at 5-4. From there, the Italian veteran gritted her way through an ensuing tie-break only to run away with the match in under two hours. In all, she hit 21 winners to only 18 unforced errors – Putintseva hit 25 winners but 35 errors – an maintained an always-impressive 89% first serve percentage.

“The first set was one hour and 15 minutes,” she told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “It was really long, really tough and every game was, ‘Advantage, deuce, advantage deuce!’ But it was good and in the second, a bit more easy. I started to play a little bit better.”

Into the Volvo Car Open semifinals for the first time in her career, Errani has already struck gold by winning the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, and will have an opportunity to reach yet another Premier final on Saturday.

“I’m really happy to be in the semifinals; for me it’s amazing. I know every match is really tough, so I’m really happy.”

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Safarova Crashes Out Of Moscow As Pavlyuchenkova Battles Through

Safarova Crashes Out Of Moscow As Pavlyuchenkova Battles Through

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Lucie Safarova crashed out of the first round Kremlin Cup in straight sets at the hands of Daria Gavrilova.

The Czech, fit again after struggling with injuries throughout 2016, also failed to make to the second round in Beijing at the beginning of October and succumbed to a 6-2, 6-2 loss.

The match started evenly, with the first five games going with serve before the 2015 French Open finalist’s effort disintegrated, losing seven games in a row to hand Gavrilova the first set and a 3-0 love lead in the second.

Safarova failed to craft a single break point throughout and dropped serve once more in the final game of the match as the Australian skipped into the second round.

“Lucie had a hard time getting used to [the surface],” Gavrilova said after the match.

“I tried to play more long rallied, but she was making a lot of mistakes in her second or third shots. She didn’t perform her best today.”

She plays Carla Suárez Navarro in the next round.

Meanwhile, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had to fight hard to overcome Katreina Siniakova 7-6 (2), 5-7, 7-5.

The Russian raced into a 5-1 lead in the opening set but was pegged back by the 20-year-old, who twice broke Pavlyuchenkova when she was serving for the set. However, the No.7 seed regained her composure in the tiebreaker to move ahead.

Pavlyuchenkova started the second set brightly but, after taking a 3-0 lead, her serve let her down and Siniakova won four straight games to turn the encounter on its head. Despite Pavlyuchenkova’s best efforts to get back on level terms, her serve let her down and Siniakova levelled the match.

In the final set, Siniakova took a two-break lead but Pavlyuchenkova dug deep to level the match and avoided a tiebreaker by breaking the Czech’s serve at 6-5.

Jelena Jankovic emerged victorious in a topsy-turvy match with Jelena Ostapenko, who failed to hold serve throughout.

After exchanging breaks, Jankovic found some stability on serve, confirming a hold with an ace before a pair of unforced errors gave her an advantage. Though Ostapenko broke back, she was unable to find her serve and a second hold from the Serb gave her the first set 6-3.

Ostapenko’s woes continued in the second set as she once again failed to hold once but was able to make inroads on the Jankovic serve. The Serb held to go 3-1 up and was able to continue breaking Ostapenko until she secured a place in the second round.

Elsewhere, Alizé Cornet eliminated Shelby Rogers in straight sets. The first set was a tight affair, with the pair exchanging breaks in the fifth and sixth games before the 26-year-old saved two set points to take the tiebreak 8-6.

She immediately went a break up in the second set and though the American broke back, Cornet regained her advantage to confirm her place in the next round.

Ekaterina Makarova overcame American qualifier Nicole Gibbs 7-5, 6-1. Both players routinely broke one another in the first set and the 23-year-old lost three straight games, having been serving for the set.

Makarova made no mistake from there, roaring into a 4-0 lead in the second and she sailed into the second round.

Finally, Julia Görges beat Dankta Kovinic 7-6 (3), 6-3, Anna Blinkova came from a set down to overcome Anastasija Sevastova 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10), Ana Konjuh defeated Barbora Strycova 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 and Kristina Mladenovic marched past Anna Kalinskaya 6-4, 6-2. Finally, Lesya Tsurenko was forced to retire after losing the first set 6-3 to Yulia Putintseva.

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Stephens Strikes Gold In Charleston

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

CHARLESTON, SC, USA – No.7 seed Sloane Stephens was a point from a one-set deficit against 2011 Volvo Car Open finalist Elena Vesnina, but the young American turned the tide in emphatic style, capturing her third title of the season, 7-6(4), 6-2.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Charleston right here on wtatennis.com!

Stephens had lost her only prior encounter with Vesnina back in 2013, but appeared to have weathered the storm after falling behind an early break to take a 5-2 lead in the opening set. Vesnina had to win two matches in qualifying just to reach the main draw, however, and was far from finished as she clawed back to win four games in a row and even hold set point behind a barrage of winners.

The 2013 Australian Open semifinalist nonetheless held her nerve and, saving her best tennis for the ensuing tie-break, reclaimed the initiative and never looked back, breaking serve twice more to clinch the victory on her fourth championship point.

“I just said to myself, ‘You have to fight for every point and compete.’ She’s a great player, so I knew I had to stay in every point,” she told ESPN’s Pam Shriver after the match.

“When I got a couple of opportunities, I took them, so that was great.”

Stephens has now won three titles in 2016, starting with the ASB Classic in Auckland and the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco. The 23-year-old will take her Charleston victory to Europe to start the red clay season in earnest at the Mutua Madrid Open.

“I love red clay, so starting in Madrid, I think I’ll have a lot of fun and just look forward to the French Open.”

Later on in press, Stephens credited a change in mindset with helping her reverse a string of disappointing results in Charleston, a tournament where she had only ever won one main draw match in five career appearances.

“Obviously coming into here I have a lot of anxiety coming into this tournament because I’ve never done well here. I just thought, you know, I’m just going to go have fun. I have nothing to lose. I’ve only won one match here ever, and just go out and play and have fun because I mean it’s just another week, and after this I’ll have a nice little break. I’m going to go to Europe.

“I don’t have anything to lose. My life is great. It’s tennis. And this is what I do every week. So I kind of just changed my mindset, and that worked. So I should just do that every week.”

For Vesnina, losing felt pretty close to winning after seven match wins from the qualifying draw; starting the season having to play Grand Slam qualifying for the first time since the 2005 US Open, the Russian veteran has enjoyed a career renaissance since Australia, nabbing wins over Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki in Doha, Venus Williams in Miami, and Sara Errani on Saturday.

“This final is like a win,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I know that there’s only one winner, and for us, for all the athletes there’s only one place, No.1, but here, today, I feel like I’m a winner because I played so many matches from qualies. I was just counting, I had like eight matches in singles and two in doubles, so ten matches in one week. That’s quite a lot.

“I’m just really happy about my run here, and let’s see how it’s going to be the rest of the year. But I’m really looking forward to that because I think it’s going to be good.”

In the doubles final, French Connection Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic won their first title of the season; the Frenchwomen announced their partnership at the end of 2015 in anticipation of the Olympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, and after two finals at the Apia International Syndey and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, the two struck gold in Charleston, taking out top seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova, 6-2, 7-5.

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Konta Readies For New Challenges Ahead

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Johanna Konta

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.47
Year-End Ranking: No.10 (Career-High No.9, 10/10/2016)
Season Highlights: Title at Stanford
Best Major Result: SF (Australian Open)

2017 Outlook

Johanna Konta’s first off-season as a member of the Top 10 has been nothing if not eventful. Following the conclusion of a year that brought 46 wins, one title and a jump of 37 places up the rankings, Konta was rocked by the death of mental coach Juan Coto, a significant figure in her spectacular rise.

Soon after, the Brit split from long-term coach Esteban Carril, before teaming up with the well-respected Wim Fissette for a trial period at the National Tennis Centre at Roehampton. Fissette has an excellent record, having taken three of his previous charges to a Grand Slam final.

Konta will hope the new arrangement will elevate her game to the next level. “I guess he’s been on the tour for quite some time, so I’m definitely looking forward to being a sponge and absorbing as much of his experience and knowledge through the years,” she said in an interview with The Independent. “He’s been with Kim and some of the players I’m currently playing against. Again, it’s early days. I think there’s only so much that you can feel out in the training block, and then the year starts. That’s when you really feel how you get along.”

“I am a firm believer – and this applies to every single team member – that I’m looking for a partner. I like working together harmoniously. I like being involved in my own development, having my input. It’s basically about a partnership more than anything.”

The pair will begin this partnership at the season-opening Shenzhen Open, before rounding off preparations for the Australian Open at the Apia International Sydney.

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Keys Aims To Continue Rise In 2017

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Madison Keys

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.18
Year-End Ranking: No.8 (Career-High No.7, 10/10/2016)
Season Highlights: Title at Birmingham
Best Major Result: Fourth Round (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open)

2017 Outlook

Earlier this week, Madison Keys announced via social media that she would be missing 2017’s first showpiece event, the Australian Open, following off-season surgery to her wrist.

And while there will be inevitable frustration when she is kicking her heels back home in January, the American is certainly not in the doldrums. The reason for her upbeat mood is her other big piece of festive season news: the decision to reunite with former World No.1 Lindsay Davenport.

In 2015, under Davenport’s tutelage, Keys made her breakthrough on tour, reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open and quarterfinals of Wimbledon. These showings, and her athletic game and potent serve, earned plenty of rave reviews, as well as some favorable comparisons with Davenport and the Williams sisters.

Since then, she has done nothing to discourage these parallels with her illustrious compatriots, making regular forays into the second week of the majors. The 22-year-old’s recovery will prevent her from doing so again in Melbourne – a short-term setback which could well pay dividends down the line.   

“Three days after the year-end WTA Championships, I had minor arthroscopic surgery on my left wrist,” Keys said on Twitter. “The procedure was very short, did not involve any tendon issues and went very well.

“I just don’t want to rush back and need to take my time to be fully ready to perform my best on the court.”

The extra time training under Davenport’s watchful eye stateside is sure to help fine-tune her game. And such are the standards at the top of the game, she will need to scale new heights if she is to take the next step, namely, a place in the Top 5 and lifting some major silverware.

“I am very excited to be working with Lindsay again as she’s helped me reach great results in the past and we make an excellent team,” Keys added.

“While I’ve been training with Lindsay and at USTA in Orlando for a few weeks, I don’t want to rush back and need to take my time to be fully able to perform at my best on court.”

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“It Wasn’t An Overnight Decision” – Ivanovic Reflects On An Unforgettable Career

“It Wasn’t An Overnight Decision” – Ivanovic Reflects On An Unforgettable Career

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Ana Ivanovic announced her retirement from professional tennis on Wednesday. The former No.1 and 2008 Roland Garros champion cited her ongoing injuries and desire to move on and begin a new chapter in her tennis career, which will see her give back to the sport that gave her so much.

After her announcement, which was streamed on Facebook, WTA Insider caught up with Ivanovic via telephone to reflect on her unforgettable career.

WTA Insider: So first question, how are you feeling after making the announcement?

Ivanovic: It was a little bit nerve-breaking but I’m doing well, thank you.

Ana Ivanovic

WTA Insider: Can you talk through how you came to the decision to retire?

Ivanovic: It’s a mix of things, obviously. It hasn’t been an overnight decision. It’s been on my mind for a little bit but I tried to also follow my heart because for me, it’s proven to be the best way.

I started to play tennis because I loved the game. Now I still love the game but I feel it’s time to move on for various reasons. I’ve been a little bit unfortunate with some injuries that I had. Being back in the Top 10 two years ago, and then fighting injuries, I was going back and forth a lot with my fitness. Then last year I really did a great pre-season, invested a lot of work, my team as well, and again I just kept getting these little niggles back and forth.

So I really felt now it’s time to just give back. Coming from Serbia, everything that I’ve been through in my life and my career, so far my parents and my brother with me, they made it all possible. I feel very fortunate and so I want to give back and maybe help others be as fortunate as I was.

WTA Insider: As you spent time reflecting on your career, what do you make of it?

Ivanovic: To be honest I’ve been going over it a lot of times and it does get me emotional because I know how I hard I worked to get everything I got. From where I came from, when I look back I am just very very proud of myself and everyone around me who helped me achieve these things.

But it’s not just about achieving these things, it’s also about being the person you are. I think all those setbacks, all those good moments, bad moments, they all make you a person, and in my case, a stronger person. I feel so blessed and so lucky to have gone through all that. I learned more about myself through not only good times but also through bad times. You learn who your real friends are, you know what you need to do to fight back. These are the lessons tennis taught me from such a young age. I feel lucky to experience all that. In life it’s not always good or bad, or black or white. So that’s why I think all these ups and downs actually helped me be the person that I am today.

Ana Ivanovic

WTA Insider: Speaking of that evolution, how is the Ana Ivanovic I’m talking to now differ from the one with the braces that held up that trophy in Canberra in 2005?

Ivanovic: More experienced, that’s for sure (laughs).

When I looked back at what I achieved, my development was one of the things I looked at. I was just a girl playing tennis, enjoying the game, and I wasn’t thinking about consequences. I was just playing the game and not relying on past experiences or worrying about consequences. Over time you learn there is pressure, there are expectations, there are your own expectations on top of all that, that’s when you stop playing free. Now looking back, that was the case.

I don’t think you’re ever prepared for the success, but maybe I needed a more experienced team around me to help me deal with that time of new pressures. But that all helped me become the person I am and now I know I can come back from anything. I’ve been low, I’ve been high, and I know that I can survive it all. That’s what gives me strength.

WTA Insider: You won the French Open and got to No.1 in 2008. The years after that weren’t easy for you on court. Given everything you went through, how important was 2014, when you got back in the Top 10, and 2015, when you made the French Open semifinal, for you?

Ivanovic: It was very, very important for me. I know and my team knows how much I fought every day. Even when I was winning all those matches in 2014, sometimes I was struggling with injuries. But I was mentally so strong, fighting my body and getting through these matches. The French Open semifinal was amazing. It’s always so special.

Ana Ivanovic

WTA Insider: What will you miss the most about tour life?

Ivanovic: I will definitely miss my friends that I’ve made along the way, but I always hope I’ll meet them again, just as I hope to see you again someday.

The irony actually is that I will miss traveling. That’s the part that I’m also looking forward to the most, that I’ll get to be home more. But I will miss traveling a little bit because I enjoy going to nice places and Australia, in particular, is on top of that list.

WTA Insider: For my last question I’m going to ask you something I’ve asked you throughout your career at various times: As you embark on retired life, what book are you reading?

Ivanovic: Actually I’m reading Inferno by Dan Brown because I realized that’s the only one I haven’t read. The movie is coming out and my brother wants to see it so I told him Ok, let me read the book first and then we can go watch.

WTA Insider: That’s very kind of you, as always. So will we see you at any tournaments this year?

Ivanovic: Yes, I’m sure. I’m already making some plans. I have some people who I promised to see so I look forward to seeing everyone around soon.

Ana Ivanovic

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

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Next Milestone In Sight For Serena

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Serena Williams

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.1
Year-End Ranking: No.2
Season Highlights: Title at Rome, Wimbledon
Best Major Result: Winner (Wimbledon), RU (Australian Open, Roland Garros)

2017 Outlook

Serena Williams ended 2016 by reaching a major milestone. Will happiness off the court help the 35-year-old achieve more records on it?

On Wimbledon’s hallowed lawns, Serena drew level with Steffi Graf’s long-standing Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam victories. It was an emotional occasion and one that proved to be the highlight of an injury-affected campaign. “Wimbledon was good for me,” she told BeIN Sports during the off-season. “Obviously, I was really excited to win that this year. I had a lot of tough matches, but I went in there and played the best I could.”

At two of the season’s other showpiece events, Williams found herself in the unusual position of giving runner-up speeches, after losing out to Angelique Kerber and Garbiñe Muguruza at the Australian and French Opens.

The competitive fire still burns brightly, though, and despite the toll on her body, few would back against the American creating more history in 2017. And while she is hesitant to talk of numbers, there can be no doubting their significance.

“30 [major titles] is a lot, but my goal is just to go out there, do the best I can and be happy,” she said to BeIN. “The only way for me to do that is to win every single match; that doesn’t always happen and that’s something you have to understand and learn to deal with over the course of your career.”

The quest for the next begins in Auckland, where Williams will make her first appearance since a shock US Open semifinal defeat to Pliskova. After that, Melbourne, where history could well await.

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