Tennis News

BUDAPEST, Hungary – Timea Babos and Lucie Safarova, the top two seeds at the Hungarian Ladies Open, moved past their semifinal opponents in straight sets to book a clash in the Budapest final.

No.2 seed Safarova needed almost an hour and thirty minutes against Germany’s Carina Witthoeft before battling through 6-4, 6-3 and reach her first WTA final since April 2016 in Prague.

“I knew Carina was playing very well, I knew I had to be tough out there and that is what I did,” Safarova told wtatennis.com after the match. “Probably experience helps, I was called a veteran on the WTA, I don´t feel like that but it was a good match.

“I am very pleased with being in a final after a long time.”

She’ll face a tough challenge in the final against Hungarian No.1 Babos, whom she teamed up with for doubles this week, reaching the quarterfinals together before Safarova was forced to withdraw with a right thigh injury.

Under the watchful eye of former World No.1 Monica Seles, top seed Babos overcame a tense opening set against Julia Goerges, the No.3 seed – she was unable to convert on three break point chances – including a set point – before finally edging through 7-5.

“Julia is a very very good player, a very experienced player on tour, so I knew it was going to be a tough one,” Babos said after the match.

“Honestly, I was a bit afraid in this match, and you could tell in the first set that I didn’t take all my opportunities. But after this, I got a little bit more into it, you could say I got mad at myself, and tried to play really aggressive and it worked out pretty well.”

Goerges was all business in the second, going up a double break to close out the 7-5, 6-1 victory in an hour and twenty minutes to reach a WTA final in her home country for the first time.

“I had a tough beginning of the year, and was just really trying to stay positive and keep my head up. Being at home, in front of this crowd and showing my emotions – this is what I was waiting for. Budapest has really turned around my season.”

MIAMI, FL, USA – For so long her Achilles heel, Victoria Azarenka’s serve has become a real weapon of late.

It is an improvement that, allied with her exceptional returning, has helped the Belarusian re-establish herself as a contender at the game’s flagship events; in Indian Wells, she outplayed Serena Williams to collect her biggest title since being crowned Australian Open champion, and earlier this week in Miami she got the better of the next generation’s brightest star, Garbiñe Muguruza, over two enthralling sets.

Pivotal to her success against Muguruza was the serve. The statistics made pleasant reading for the Azarenka camp, nine aces and a solitary double fault helping her win 58 of 83 (69%) points on serve – WTA leader Serena Williams’ 2016 figure is 66.4%* – and restrict the Spaniard to two breaks.

“I think it was a high-quality match for both of us. It was a lot of good striking, a lot of winners, and both of us taking opportunities,” Azarenka said in her post-match press conference. “I think today I served really well, and I played to win in important moments. Momentum shifting, I think I was a little better today.”

The story was a similar one in the Indian Wells final, where her approach and execution withstood the sternest of examinations from one of the best returners in the history of the sport. Williams carved out 12 break points (three times as many as Azarenka) yet could convert only one.

“Well, I have to go for it. She’s not a type of player that if you going to play safe she’s going to give it to you or she’s going to miss,” the 26-year-old said afterwards. “You really have to go out there and take away, because there is nothing coming easy.

“My mentality was just to stay calm, do what I think is right, play aggressive, play my game, and figure it out from there. I just really try to stay in the moment. Whatever I can do, you know, whatever the score is, the next-best point what I can play.”

This unflappability bears stark contrast to previous seasons, when Azarenka’s serve often unraveled at the most inopportune of moments. Nowhere was this more apparent than during her encounter with Williams at last year’s Mutua Madrid Open. Leading 6-5, 40-0 in the final set, Azarenka fell to pieces, double faulting three times to precipitate a dramatic collapse that culminated in tie-break heartache.

Similar problems would haunt her for the rest of the campaign, which featured more false dawns than she would care to remember. Charged with finding a solution was coach Wim Fissette, who targeted cheap gains as crucial to improving his charge’s fortunes.

“I worked a lot on my serve to be able to create easier serving games and going for my shots, developing power speed, and now need to work a little bit more on accuracy,” Azarenka said after her Indian Wells victory over Samantha Stosur, a match in which she struck a healthy 10 aces.

In her Hawk-Eye tracked matches in 2015, Azarenka was averaging 96mph on her first serve and 84mph on the second. While her service speed has not risen noticeably in 2016 – she is averaging 100mph and 86mph on first and second serves, respectively – there has been a marked jump in the number of points won – 66% compared to 55% in 2015.

The knock-on effect has been a more confident player, better equipped to make that long-overdue charge up the rankings: “I think I’m a better player right now just the way I handle myself on the court. I improved a lot my serve and just stronger in the tougher moments. I feel happier on the court, so that’s very important, to be able to go out there and perform in a difficult fight.

“I think my game is developing with pretty big progress right now, and that’s what I’m most happy about, is being able to add a little bit more every time I play. That’s for me the main goal of this season, to keep improving.”

* Information accurate as of March 21, 2016 

BEIJING, China – Shortly after midnight Agnieszka Radwanska looked alert as ever as she secured the last semifinal spot at the China Open with an impressive win over Yaroslava Shvedova.

Watch live action from Beijing on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Radwanska, the 2011 champion, produced two sets of near-flawless tennis to wrap up a 6-1, 6-2 victory and a book a meeting with Elina Svitolina.

.@ARadwanska through in the straightest of straight sets into @ChinaOpen SF pic.twitter.com/WCsJ4JXdC5

— TennisTV (@TennisTV) October 7, 2016

Shvedova, who defeated Alizé Cornet in their rain-delayed third-round encounter earlier in the day, made a bright enough start, capitalizing on a couple of errors from Radwanska to claim an early break. However, from this point on it was one-way traffic, the Pole soaking up Shvedova’s best blows to race through the rest of the set.

Radwanska’s defense was equally watertight in the second set – she would finish with just nine unforced errors – rattling off the final four games to take her place in a fifth semifinal in the Chinese capital.

Svitolina’s progress was not quite so straightforward, recovering from a slow start to defeat Daria Gavrilova. Having overturned an early deficit, Svitolina experienced an almighty struggle to close out the opening set. In the end she required seven set points, going on to close out a 7-6(3), 6-1 winner after an hour and 45 minutes.

Months that follow Grand Slams typically don’t feature new tennis fashion releases, but that doesn’t prevent the WTA courts from being stylish.

This February we’ve enjoyed a range of outstanding outfits that had been launched at the Australian Open, but got the true attention they deserve at the tournaments following it.

Marija Zivlak of Women’s Tennis Blog gives us an overview of the best outfits in February (photos courtesy of Getty Images):

Kristina Mladenovic enjoyed the comfort of the extra light and breathable adidas Melbourne Dress en route to her maiden singles title at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. The slit on the side of the magnificent blue design helped the Frenchwoman move freely during her astonishing 62 winners in the final.

The dress comes paired with coordinating print compression shorts, which match the sun-bleached print insets at the sides of the top, while pops of color are provided by sleek orange spaghetti straps and accessories.

The adidas Adizero Ubersonic 2 shoes supported Mladenovic’s feet as she eliminated Australian Open finalist Venus Williams and defending champion Roberta Vinci from the Premier-level tournament in Russia.

Elina Svitolina rocked both her tennis and her fashion game in the month of February! Wearing this striking black and white Nike outfit, the 22-year-old won two WTA titles and became the first Ukrainian to crack the Top 10.

The performance-packed Nike Spring Print Power Spin Skirt beats the competition with its graphic inspired by the shadows cast on a court. Elastic in Nike Power fabric stretched as Svitolina covered the court and then got back to its original shape to keep the new World No.10 supported, Dri-FIT Technology helped keep her dry and comfortable by wicking sweat away, while inner shorts confidently provided coverage.

A classic white Nike Spring Premier Slam Tank perfectly balanced out the look. Although the design is very simple, the top is made from a well-thought-out engineered mesh with a more open knit pattern in high heat areas.

With designer Stella McCartney keeping her style strong, Caroline Wozniacki could focus on her tennis, playing eleven matches in eleven days and making two WTA Premier finals in a row. The Dane’s adidas Spring Stella McCartney Tank in bold blue offers moisture-wicking performance and super soft feel. The form-fitting top nicely goes with an A-line adidas Spring Stella McCartney Skirt, equipped with Climalite technology, built-in compression shorts and laser-cut hem for increased breathability.

With top-level matches day in and day out, Wozniacki’s feet were helped by the revolutionary foam of the adidas by Stella McCartney Barricade Boost shoes that stored and unleashed energy every time the Dane’s foot hit the ground. With the weather in the desert being anything but favorable this year, Wozniacki also made good use of her aviator-style adidas Spring Stella McCartney Jacket.

Timea Babos came to the inaugural Hungarian Ladies Open without even one singles match win in 2017, but that all changed at her home tournament as the 23-year-old went all the way to the title, sporting Fila’s Sleek Streak collection designed for the urban-chic player.

The Hungarian made her way to the champion’s trophy in style, wearing the Fila Sleek Racerback Tank and the Fila Sleek Insert Skirt, unique for their black/white/ruby rose tie-dye print and color-blocking.

Even though Mona Barthel didn’t go far at February’s tournaments, her Bidi Badu Avril Tech Dress managed to steal my attention with its wonderfully refreshing yellow and pink hues. The ombre effect is executed beautifully, just as the feminine silhouette of the dress.

Vote for your favorite outfit in the poll below!

MIAMI, FL, USA – How many minutes has Svetlana Kuznetsova spent on court? Who has hit the most aces? And just how impressive has Angelique Kerber’s returning been? These are just a few of the questions answered in a Miami Open semifinal edition of wtatennis.com’s By The Numbers.

20,000,000 – Should Svetlana Kuznetsova reach the final she will pass $20million in career prize money. 

575 – Kuznetsova has taken 575 minutes to win her four matches – 128 minutes more than her semifinal opponent, Timea Bacsinszky. Victoria Azarenka and Angelique Kerber have spent 379 and 343 minutes, respectively, on court thus far.

75 – Azarenka’s improved serve has helped her fend off 12 of 16 (75%) break points this fortnight – the best among the four remaining players. In her quarterfinal with Johanna Konta, the Belarusian saved all five break points faced.

51.4 – The percentage of return points Kerber has won in her four matches at Crandon Park. She has also converted a staggering 77.8% of her break point opportunities.

42 – Azarenka has won 42 of her 54 meetings with left-handers on tour. Six of these have come against Kerber. However, her solitary defeat against the German came in arguably their most high-profile meeting, at this year’s Australian Open.

22 – Kuznetsova has struck more aces, 22, than any other player en route to the last four. Kerber, meanwhile, has hit just two.

20 – Victory over Konta took Azarenka’s 2016 match win tally to 20. Last season, the former No.1 did not reach this total until Wimbledon.

15 – Bacsinszky is bidding to become the first Swiss finalist in Miami since Martina Hingis finished runner-up 15 years ago.

5 – By virtue of her run to the semifinals Azarenka will return to the Top 5 (at No.5) for the first time since May, 2014, at the expense of Simona Halep. This will be the first time Halep has been ranked outside the Top 5 since March, 2014.

4 – Four different nationalities are represented in the semifinals at Crandon Park for the fifth year in succession.

2 – Azarenka has reached the last four in Miami twice, in 2009 and 2011, and on both occasions she went on to win the title.

1 – Before this fortnight, Kerber and Kuznetsova had registered a combined total of one main draw win since the Australian Open.

0 – The number of sets Azarenka has dropped en route to the semifinals. The last player to be crowned Miami champion without dropping a set was Agnieszka Radwanska in 2012.