Tennis News

EASTBOURNE, Great Britain – Monica Puig continued her stellar grass court season with a thrilling victory over former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, to reach the quarterfinals of the Aegon International.

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The Puerto Rican star is in the midst of a career-best season, matching her best French Open result by reaching the third round and making her first-ever grass court semifinal at the Aegon Open in Nottingham.

“I have had up-and-down results with grass courts in the past,” Puig said in her post-match press conference. “You know, I had fourth round at Wimbledon, and early exits in all the tournaments. So it’s a surface where you have to really work at it in the first week and a half, you know.

“I tried to use Nottingham as a good preparation for Wimbledon and getting used to the body on how I’m supposed to get really low and just feel everything out.”

Wozniacki, by contrast, is attempting to kickstart her season after an ankle injury forced her to sit out the entirety of hte clay court season. With a solid win over No.7 Samantha Stosur in the second round, the Dane looked on course to build even more momentum ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, surviving a titanic sixth game and eventually running away with the first set in 50 minutes.

“She’s a great player and she makes you work for every single point, so it was really up to me to stay very focused in my game plan and what I wanted to accomplish out there in the court.”

One break separated the two in the second set, with Puig converting and racing out to a 2-0 lead in the decider after leveling the match at one set apiece.

“I think Monica played really well today,” Wozniacki said after the match. “I just have to take that and then just bring it with me to next week.

“There are a couple of things you can always improve on, but generally I’m feeling good, I’m feeling confident. And again, I’m not seeded so hopefully I can get a nice draw for myself.

“I feel like the draws haven’t been with me the last year, so I’m like hopefully eventually it’s going to turn, right? I’m hoping it’s going to start at Wimbledon.”

Wozniacki had one last surge in the final set, winning three games on the bounce, but Puig proved too strong in the end, serving out the win in two hours and 15 minutes.

“I was aggressive there at the end,” Puig noted. “You know, it’s never easy also to close out a match when you’re serving, especially when it’s 5-4. You know, anything can happen, and then all of a sudden you’re 5-5, fighting to get your lead back.

“I stayed with my game plan the whole way and the way that I was just extremely positive throughout the match.”

Up next for Puig is another youngster in Kristina Mladenovic, who edged past Anna-Lena Friedsam, 6-4, 7-6(4).

And the fun continues!!!! ?☺️ (Photo credit: @JJlovesTennis ) pic.twitter.com/IoULNdK4RF

— Monica Puig (@MonicaAce93) June 22, 2016

LONDON, England – Even the rain could not dampen the spirits of those at this year’s WTA Pre-Wimbledon Party presented by Dubai Duty Free.

The event, now in its 11th year, is one of the highlights of tennis’ social calendar. This time Serena Williams, Garbiñe Muguruza, Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki were joined by personalities from the world of sport, entertainment and fashion, including Thom Evans, Katie Piper and Tallia Storm.

There were also some younger faces braving the worst of the British weather, Elena Baltacha Academy starlet Tawana Senah walking the purple carpet alongside Judy Murray, and WTA Future Star Karman Thandi getting her first taste of life at tennis’ top table.

LONDON, Great Britain – No.12 seed Carla Suárez Navarro survived a scare in her Wimbledon opener against Shuai Zhang, overcoming a mid-match wobble to advance 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

The last time the pair played was at this tournament and at this stage, with the Spaniard easing past Zhang in a comfortable straight sets back in 2014. Today’s match was decidedly more competitive, with the Chinese No.1 breaking twice to take the second set and going up a break in the third.

But the Spaniard, who reached the semifinals of the Aegon Classic Birmingham earlier in the grass season, roared back in the third to reach the second round.

No.14 seed Samantha Stosur also moved into the second round after putting an early wobble behind her to defeat 24-year-old Magda Linette 7-5, 6-3.

“Not much to be disappointed about with that match,” Stosur said afterwards. “I felt like I was in control.

“There’s always things you want to get a little bit better at but for the most part I thought I played well and really solid. I served well. A couple little things on my forehand. Apart from that, I was happy.”

The Australian’s next opponent will be the big-serving Sabine Lisicki, who was off to a roaring start at Wimbledon and needed only 52 seconds to win her opening game against Magda Linette before taking the match 6-1, 6-3 in 59 minutes.

Meanwhile, Russian qualifier Ekaterina Alexandrova scored the biggest win of her career over No.23 seed Ana Ivanovic, knocking out the former No.1 in her Wimbledon main draw debut, 6-2, 7-5.

The Serb took no credit away from her No.223-ranked opponent but pointed to a lingering wrist injury as a factor in her first round exit.

“It was very tough. I mean, since two weeks I struggle with my right wrist,” she said “It was very hard to accelerate on my forehand. I tried to do everything possible to be fit and recover and tape it and so on.

“I feel like it caused me a lot of miss hits. My forehand was hard to control her fast shots. I thought she played really well and served very good. Especially in the first set, she was not missing many first serves.”

Lucie Safarova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands put their friendship aside in their first round battle. Regular doubles partners, this time they stood on opposite sides of the net as Mattek-Sands looked to deal an upset to her No.28-seeded friend. She nearly managed it two times – the American held match point once in the second set and twice in the third – before Safarova closed her out 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 7-5.

Also through to the next round is No.17 seed Elina Svitolina, who advanced comfortably against British player Naomi Broady, 6-2, 6-3. Perhaps surprisingly, Svitolina has never made it past the second round of Wimbledon – she’ll hope to do so for the first time against Yaroslava Shvedova.

Serena Williams features on Centre Court, while a host of other second and third-round matchups will take place on Friday. We preview the must-see Day 5 matchups at Wimbledon here, courtesy of wtatennis.com contributor Chris Oddo.

Friday

Second Round and Third Round

[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. Christina McHale (USA #65)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Williams has compiled an 80-10 record in her 17 Wimbledon appearances.

After a three-day rain-induced rest, Serena Williams will get back to the business of defending her Wimbledon title against fellow American Christina McHale in second-round action. Williams has already faced the Teaneck, New Jersey native twice this year, and though she’s come away with two victories the contests have been far from simple. After her three-set victory over McHale in Miami this March, Williams was quick to offer up some kind words about her vanquished foe. “She’s an unbelievably sweet girl,” she said of McHale. “I’ve had the opportunity to play with her on Fed Cup, and we always have such a good time. I think she did a really good job. She can, should, and will be very proud of herself in this match.” The pair would meet again in Rome with Williams winning in straights, but needing a first-set tiebreaker to get through. Naturally Williams will come in as the heavy favorite, but if McHale comes out swinging this could turn into another good battle between compatriots.

Pick: Williams in two

[10] Petra Kvitova (CZE #10) vs. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS #35)
Head-to-head: Kvitova leads, 4-3
Key Stat: Kvitova won 25 of 27 of her first-serve points in her first match at Wimbledon.

Can you say brutal draw? Fans of Petra Kvitova and Ekaterina Makarova surely can, as these two hard-hitting bona fide talents are set to square off in round two. That’s way too early for talents of this level, but as the cliché reads, it is what it is. Makarova certainly does not have the grass pedigree that two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova has, but the Russian is a former Wimbledon quarterfinalist who missed being seeded at Wimbledon by a whisker this year. She also owns five Top 10 wins on grass, including one against Kvitova at Eastbourne in 2012. But when they met at Wimbledon in 2013, it was Kvitova who came through with a three-set triumph. Kvitova was in devilish form in her opening-round victory over Sorana Cirstea, but she’ll have to keep it up to get past Makarova, who is consistently formidable on grass and at the majors.

Pick: Kvitova in three

[8] Venus Williams (USA #8) vs. [29] Daria Kasatkina (RUS #33)
Head-to-head: Kasatkina Leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Five-time Wimbledon champion Williams leads all active players with 90 main draw matches played at Wimbledon.

One of the more eye-opening victories of the 2016 WTA season came in January, when Daria Kasatkina stunned defending champion Venus Williams in Auckland for her first Top 10 win. Kasatkina, ranked in the 70’s at the time, battled from 3-1 down in set three to win that match and afterwards paid Venus some big-time respect. “She’s an amazing tennis player and I respect her so much,” she said. “It was an unbelievable match for me.” Given that Kasatkina is making her Wimbledon debut, she’s proved to be quite a quick study on grass by reaching round three. But how will she fare against one of the most legendary grass-courters that the game has ever known? An upset at an Australian Open tune-up is certainly notable, but Friday’s task will surely be more daunting for the 19-year-old Russian. And Williams may be the oldest woman in the draw, but she’s making her intentions very clear at SW19. “I want to win,” she said on Thursday after winning her singles and doubles rounds. “I’m not here to not win. What’s the point of being here?”

Pick: Williams in two

Around the Grounds: Many of Thursday’s second-round winners on the lower half will be back in action on Friday. No.9 seed Madison Keys will take on France’s Alizé Cornet. Keys leads the head-to-head 2-0 but the pair have not met since 2014. Will Sabine Lisicki produce another memorable Wimbledon run? The German squares off with former Golden Set winner Yaroslava Shvedova on Court 16. No. 5 seed Simona Halep will meet No.26 seed Kiki Bertens in the last match on No.2 court. Bertens, who produced a career-best semifinal appearance at Roland Garros, is playing the third round at Wimbledon for the first time.

By the Numbers:

21 – Sabine Lisicki’s ace count in her first two rounds. The German is four aces behind Karolina Pliskova for the tournament lead.

6-0, 6-0 – Carina Witthoeft’s double-bagel loss to Angelique Kerber at Wimbledon last year marks the only time she has lost a tour-level match without winning a game. She’ll get a chance for revenge on Friday as she meets Kerber for the second straight year at SW19.

2 – Simona Halep has only won back-to-back matches two times at the All-England Club. The other time was 2014, when she reached the semifinals.

Angelique Kerber is guaranteed a return to WTA World No.1 when the new rankings are released by virtue of Serena Williams’ withdrawal from the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open.

Kerber and Williams entered the tournament facing a battle for World No.1, with the American needing to reach at least the semifinals to hold on to the top spot. But the race to the top took another twist as Williams announced her withdrawal on Tuesday before the start of play at Indian Wells:

“Sadly, I have to withdraw from the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the Miami Open,” Williams said in a statement. “I have not been able to train due to my knees and am disappointed I cannot be there. I will keep moving forward and continue to be positive. I look forward to being back as soon as I can.”

As a result, Kerber is projected to return to World No.1 when the new WTA rankings are released on Monday, March 20 after Indian Wells and will hold on to the spot through at least April 2, which will take her career total to 22 weeks at No.1.

She will surpass Kim Clijsters (20 weeks), Tracy Austin (21 weeks) and Maria Sharapova (21 weeks) in terms of all-time weeks atop the rankings.

The German first rose to the World No.1 ranking on September 12, 2016 after winning her second Grand Slam at the US Open. Kerber became the second German woman to reach the milestone since the computer rankings were introduced in 1975, and the first since Stefanie Graf. The then-28-year-old also became the oldest player to make her debut at No.1, a record previously held by Jennifer Capriati, who was 25 years, 200 days when she reached No.1 in October 2001.

Kerber held the spot for 20 consecutive weeks until Williams reclaimed the ranking following her historic 23rd major victory at the Australian Open in January.