Tennis News

CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Five years ago, Germany’s top-ranked woman was asked to handicap her countrywoman at the Western & Southern Open. Having recently made her Top 10 debut, Andrea Petkovic told members of the media to keep an eye out for one player in particular.

“She’s going to come back,” Petkovic said of Angelique Kerber. “I called her and I asked her to come to my academy where I train, and she came there for four weeks and practiced really, really hard.”

Kerber had been ranked as high as No.45 to start the 2011 season, but briefly dropped out of the Top 100 that summer. At the time of Petkovic’s press conference, she had lost 15 of her last 18 WTA main draw matches.

“I promise you she’s going to be at least Top 30 like in six months, because she worked really, really hard and she’s a great player and she’s definitely going to come back.”

To say that Petkovic proved prescient would be the understatement of the decade. Within a week, Kerber reached the semifinals of a WTA International event in Dallas, Texas as a qualifier. Two weeks after that, the then-World No.90 was in the final four of the US Open, upsetting Agnieszka Radwanska and Flavia Pennetta along the way.

“She was helping me in practice,” she said of Petkovic’s advice after her win over Pennetta. “She told me, ‘You can do it. You play very well. You need to play consistent your tennis and not think about something or not think that you can win or you can lose. Just go on the court, play your tennis.’ Yeah, she helps me a lot.”

Kerber ultimately fell to eventual champion Samantha Stosur, but nonetheless beat Petkovic’s prediction by well over three months, cracking the Top 30 for the first time on October 2, 2011.

A lot has changed since then. The reigning Australian Open champion, Wimbledon runner-up, and Olympic Silver medalist is now in pole position to end Serena Williams’ 183 straight weeks atop the WTA rankings. Should she take home the trophy at the very tournament where Petkovic first made her bold prediction, Kerber would become the oldest woman to debut at World No.1 since a 25-year-old Jennifer Capriati in 2001.

She spoke about the pressure of having to back up her Melbourne run, and how it was familiar to her feelings following her 2011 breakthrough, after her opening round win over Kristina Mladenovic:

Angelique Kerber is done proving to people that she belongs. Now she plays for herself. #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/39eyX49kfJ

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) August 18, 2016

With dangerous veteran Barbora Strycova looming in the third round, Kerber still has a tough road to reach the top spot, but it’s proving tougher and tougher to bet against the German, especially with the Cincinnati breeze at her back.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – It is fair to say that Ana Ivanovic has not enjoyed an easy ride so far in 2016.

Early exits in Auckland and Sydney were followed by emotional third-round defeat to Madison Keys at the Australian Open. In this final match, Ivanovic’s coach, Nigel Sears, was rushed to hospital after collapsing in the stands on Rod Laver. 

“It was obviously very hard. It was a serious moment, he went to the hospital, it was difficult to me to keep playing the same way, because I was really worried,” Ivanovic said. “I knew he was in the hospital, but I didn’t know the details.

“After the match I had some mixed messages. Now he feels good, he is here with me. He took some weeks to recover. He is fine.”

Last week, Sears was back on the practice court, preparing his charge for her return at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. Staged at the Sibur Arena, the tournament is one of a dwindling number of indoor events on the WTA calendar.

After her travails Down Under, Ivanovic for one is looking forward to moving indoors. “I think it’s similar to a lot of indoor events. I feel really good, I have had a couple of practices, though on the training courts only.

“I find the surface is very effective, and it suits my game well, you need to hit through the ball well and it’s nice.”

There will be no easing back into competitive action, though; Ivanovic – the recipient of a first-round bye, will open her campaign against the in-form Margarita Gasparyan on Wednesday evening.

“I think especially for the women it’s very important to play match by match. Honestly, I saw the draw and I thought the first match is tough,” Ivanovic, who is looking to end a 13-month title drought, said.

“If I could win a title here, it would be my dream. It’s a tough draw, a lot of good players, I’m going to fight and work hard.”

CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Last year’s finalist Simona Halep raced into her third consecutive quarterfinal at the Western & Southern Open after needing just 53 minutes to dispatch Australian qualifier Daria Gavrilova 6-1, 6-2.

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

After days of rain and storms, the sun finally shined at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, bringing with it the blistering conditions for which Cincinnati in August is known.

“Yes, it’s very hot here,” Halep said after the match. “After the first set the sun hit me very strong so I didn’t have too much energy. I’m really happy that I could finish.”

Gavrilova is fast becoming a familiar face across the net for Halep – this is the third time they’ve faced off this year. Their first 2016 match up came in Rome, where Gavrilova pulled off the upset to take the match in straight sets, but their most recent tilt was in Montréal, where Halep mowed over the Australian in straight sets en route to the title.

“I knew that I had to be aggressive, not letting her come at me because she can play with the forehand very well,” she explained. “I opened the court, served pretty well and returned hard the second serve to force the return.”

First set ? @Simona_Halep!

Up 6-1 on Gavrilova @CincyTennis! https://t.co/155ikbtoDq

— WTA (@WTA) August 18, 2016

The Romanian employed her strategy in perfect fashion in a dominant first set. She quickly broke twice to put together a 4-0 lead. Gavrilova pounced on some loose points and surged to a 40-0 lead in the next game with a chance to get a break back, but Halep wrestled the momentum away with a couple of laser backhands down the line.

The Australian finally found her first serves and was able to get her name on the scoreboard at 5-1, but Halep’s speed and agility was in full flight to tamp down any hope of a comeback, easily putting away a backhand deep in the cross court to ease through the first set.

Gavrilova opened the second set with a confidence-boosting hold of serve, but as Halep continued to chip away with her all-court coverage, her high octane game began to wilt and she surrendered another break. Gavrilova broke back at 2-2, but Halep continuing to bully her around the court, dragging her from line to line and pocketing the point with a forehand winner, catching the Australian out of position time and time again.

Halep sealed the straight sets victory with an ace and moved into the quarterfinals after just 53 minutes, extending her winning streak to 12 consecutive matches. She hit 18 winners to 14 unforced errors, compared to 7 winners and 19 unforced for Gavrilova.

She will play the winner of the match between No.5 seed Agnieszka Radwanska and No.10 seed Johanna Konta.

.@Simona_Halep gives @CincyTennis fans a shoutout! ??? https://t.co/fktLL7qK5k

— WTA (@WTA) August 18, 2016

21-year-old Elina Svitolina announced that seven-time Grand Slam champion Justine Henin would join her coaching team on her website.

Justine rejoint la team Svitolina! Elle pourra transmettre son expérience et ses précieux conseils à la joueuse… https://t.co/Hm5S8xMApx

— Justine Henin (@Justine_Henin) February 11, 2016

Svitolina has enjoyed a rapid rise up the rankings in the last two seasons, earning four Top 10 wins – two over reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber – and making her Top 20 debut last spring, following a run to the quarterfinals of the French Open. Looking to make the next step in her career ascent, Svitolina has been after Henin’s expertise since the off-season.

Neither Svitolina nor Henin are the tallest to ever play the game – Svitolina stands at 5’9″ to Henin’s 5’5″ – but the Belgian unleashed a barrage of unbridled aggression combined with an unflappable competitive spirit to finish as the Year-End No.1 three times, win a hat-trick of French Open titles from 2005-2007 (four in total), along with an Olympic Gold Medal in 2004 – recovering from 1-5 in the final set of her semifinal against Anastasia Myskina to dispatch Amélie Mauresmo in the final.

Retiring in 2008, Henin returned to tennis two years later, reaching the Australian Open final in the first major appearance of her comeback, falling to World No.1 Serena Williams in three thrilling sets.

Svitolina already has strong competitive instincts, winning a majority of her three-set matches in 2015, but could certainly benefit from a dose of Henin’s aggressive tactics that may encourage her to step into the court and dictate play more often.

Whatever happens, Henin’s addition to the coaching community has certainly left the tennis world intrigued:

J Henin to start coaching Svitolina. Great news for WTA??. One of the legends!

— Magnus Norman (@normansweden) February 11, 2016

Interesting 1st coaching gig https://t.co/fejk4rnMDf

— Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) February 11, 2016

CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Simona Halep recovered from a slow start to defeat Agnieszka Radwanska in Friday evening’s rain-affected quarterfinal of the Western & Southern Open.

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

The latest intervention from the Cincinnati weather pushed the start of the match back by almost one hour, and when they did make it on court Halep appeared to have left her best tennis in the changing room. Radwanska could barely believe her luck as a string of errors enabled her to spring into a 4-0 lead.

But as the contest wore on Halep quickly began to resemble the player that has so impressed for much of this summer, outplaying the WTA’s master craftswoman to complete a 7-5, 6-1 victory.

“You have to change the rhythm. I didn’t hit as strong as I did first four games and I didn’t miss as I did at the beginning,” Halep said. “She was playing really well at the beginning, those four games, but then I had just to change, to play more angles, and then I came back and I think I was the one that was dominating match.”

Nice teamwork. #CincyTennis https://t.co/H9MhJYLKlh

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) 20 August 2016

Halep has now won 13 straight matches on tour, and her confidence was clear for all to see under the lights of the Lindner Family Tennis Center. By the end of the first set she was even coming out on top in the games of tactical cat and mouse, drawing Radwanska into the net then spearing a winning passing shot to edge 6-5 ahead. She continued to impress both tactically and mentally the following game, recovering from 0-30 down to earn a set point, completing the turnaround with the type of cerebral touch her opponent would have been proud of.

This appeared to break the Pole’s will, Halep reeling off the final five games of the match to extend an unbeaten sequence stretching back to the Wimbledon quarterfinals. On that day it was Angelique Kerber that toppled the Romanian and the pair – who also locked horns in Montréal – will resume their rivalry in Saturday’s semifinals.

According to Halep, the outcome of the contest will hinge on the mental side of her game as much as the physical: “I have to slow down my emotions, because with her you feel that you can go for the balls, like to be aggressive, but it’s not that easy.

“So I have to be patient. I have to play my game like I did today. I think it’s pretty similar with the match, today’s match. I have to fight. I know that I can win. I have this confidence. I know that she’s a great player. I have nothing to lose. I’m going just to do my job and to try to win.”

CINCINNATI, OH, USA – No.17 Karolina Pliskova swept past Garbiñe Muguruza in a dominating straight sets performance, winning 6-1, 6-3 to secure the first spot in the Western & Southern Open final.

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

“I know I beat [Muguruza] in the last two matches, so I knew it’s going to be tough for her to beat me if I play well or if I play solid,” Pliskova said afterwards. “I was not thinking about that she’s a French Open champion. This you cannot take on the court.

“I always believe… there is, I would say, 99% of the players, I can beat all of them if I play good tennis.”

Like Simona Halep, Pliskova opted to skip the Olympic tennis event – she’s normally practice-averse but she used the time off to work on her game, and the effort showed in the Czech’s commanding win to reach her third final of 2016.

“That was one of the things what I changed [this year], to don’t play everything possible,” Pliskova explained. “To get ready for some events. I think now, at this time, not always, but it pays off. That’s what I learned.”

Follow live game-by-game analysis from Cincinnati semifinals day on WTA Insider’s Live Blog.

Throughout the match Muguruza looked rattled by Pliskova’s big serving and tricky slices. The Spaniard opened the match with a strong hold of serve, but was shut out of the set she leaked error after error. Pliskova rattled off seven straight games to take the first set and start the second with a strong lead.

Pliskova’s backhand clipped the net to give Muguruza her first break in the second set at 3-2, but she surrendered it immediately as Pliskova broke back to keep them level. Serving down 3-4, Muguruza floated a drop shot just over the net but it was fetched by Pliskova, who replied with a drop shot of her own. The Czech broke once more and, after a pair of Muguruza errors, went on to seal the match with an ace down the tee to become the first Czech to reach the final at the Western & Southern Open.

The Czech’s clear command of the match was reflected in her 17 winners and 17 unforced errors – Muguruza struck just 7 winners and flubbed 23 unforced. Pliskova also served up five aces putting her at 400 aces for the season, a WTA-leading figure.

“You feel the pressure when you have to serve because the other one serves so well,” Muguruza said of facing her opponent’s big weapon. “You kind of have to, ‘Hey, I have to keep my serve. I cannot lose my serve.’

“The whole match was a lot of tension. She plays really fast and goes for shots that are unreal.”

Pliskova’s speedy one-hour victory was timed perfectly, as the skies finally opened up during the Czech’s post-match interview.

“It wasn’t easy today, because the wind was really tricky and it was tough conditions today,” she told the crowd.

“I’m really happy that I made it – and oh, it’s raining now!”

The No.17-ranked Pliskova, who is also the lowest-ranked Cincy finalist since No.92 Nathalie Dechy in 2008, ducked for cover and now awaits the winner of the second semifinal match between Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep.

First #CincyTennis Final for @KaPliskova! ? https://t.co/458dnLa7Gt

— WTA (@WTA) August 20, 2016