Eastbourne: Best Shots
The best shots from the Aegon International.
MIAMI, FL, USA – No.2 seed Karolina Pliskova wrapped up her straight sets win over Madison Brengle in just under an hour to move into the third round of the Miami Open, 6-1, 6-3.
Last year, Pliskova made a run to the Indian Wells semifinals and crashed out of Miami in her opening match. The Czech admitted at All-Access Hour that her biggest goal was to avoid the same fate again.
“I had this last year as well – I did semis last year and then I lost in first round here,” she said. “So I just want to change this. I know I struggle after I do a good result in one tournament and then coming to a different tournament after.
“I think I’m in good shape this year, so hopefully I can change it in this tournament, to not lose in the first round.”
.@KaPliskova races through the first set 6-1! ? #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/kxxXZA3Mdf
— WTA (@WTA) March 23, 2017
With her first serve percentage dipping to 46%, Pliskova relied on her booming groundstrokes and strong returning to ensure that she’d fight another day. She bossed the rallies against the American, quickly breaking twice to reel off six straight games and take the opening set and a break to lead in the second.
Brengle put up a better fight in the second set as she attacked the Pliskova serve and earned herself her first break of the match, but Pliskova quickly reestablished the lead in the next game. They stayed on serve for the rest of the set with just a break separating the two players, and Brengle was unable to bring up a second break opportunity as Pliskova took the victory in just 59 minutes.
.@KaPliskova is first through to @MiamiOpen Third round!
Hurries past Brengle 6-1, 6-3! pic.twitter.com/6Y5EKke1ru
— WTA (@WTA) March 23, 2017
Pliskova dictated the rallies from start to finish, and it showed in the stats: she finished the match with 27 winners and 30 unforced errors to Brengle’s six winners and 24 unforced errors. She took five of the eight break opportunities she created, while the American was only able to convert one of two.
“The last few matches it’s not really about my serve because the percentage is a little low, but I’m happy that I have my game from the baseline,” Pliskova said after the match. “I was feeling the ball pretty well today.
“It was a tough one today against an American, she has the home crowd supporting here. So I’m just happy to be through.”
MIAMI, FL, USA — She reached the quarterfinals in her Miami Open debut a year ago, and Johanna Konta’s 2017 tournament is off to a winning start after the No.10 seed survived a game effort by Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus, 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4 in the second round on Friday night.
“I’m definitely satisfied with how I came back in the third set and just competed,” Konta said after the match. “Basically just did the best that I could with what I had. It was very difficult conditions — not just the wind, but also the rain, quite a little bit of stop and start. It was about managing your expectations for any sort of level for the match but also any sort of frustrations that would arise because of the conditions — just keeping things in good perspective, fighting and competing. She played quite well, and I really had to fight hard and work for it in the end.”
Konta cruised in the 33-minute opener, winning four straight games from 2-2 to take a one-set lead. The Brit surrendered just seven points on serve in the first set, while winning 50 percent of the points on Sasnovich’s delivery. She remained in command for much of the early going in the second, building a 6-2, 4-2 lead, but Sasnovich got a foothold in the match with a key break of serve in the seventh game — her first of the match.
From there, the set went with serve until the tie-break, with Konta forced to save break points at 4-4 as Sasnovich looked to win a third straight game, before the qualifier found her forehand late, striking several winners to earn herself a deciding set.
Sasnovich is still fighting hard! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/QCsVJZrVJd
— WTA (@WTA) March 24, 2017
After the pair traded breaks to begin the final set, a second break in the fifth game keyed the victory for Konta, as she held serve the rest of the way to emerge victorious in the two hour, 39 minute encounter.
.@JoKonta91 holds off Sasnovich 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4!
Advances to @MiamiOpen Third round! pic.twitter.com/sE09QZUTam
— WTA (@WTA) March 25, 2017
Also through on Day 4 was Madison Keys, who surrendered just three games en route to dispatching Viktorija Golubic, 6-1, 6-2 in 67 minutes. Dropping serve just once, the No.8 seed broke five times to sail through to the third round.
“The key today was definitely staying calm, because the conditions were not great,” Keys told WTA Insider after the match. “[I was] staying focused on playing my game, having good serves, kind of just focusing on what I could control.”
.@Madison_Keys eases past Golubic 6-1, 6-2 in @MiamiOpen Second round! pic.twitter.com/yre4lQohmf
— WTA (@WTA) March 24, 2017
Keys, who began her 2017 at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells following a lay-off from wrist surgery, reached the fourth round in her first tournament back, and feels as though it hasn’t taken her very long to get back in the swing of competitive tennis.
“I feel pretty good,” Keys said. “There’s obviously still some points where it’s more the mental, where it’s, ‘That was a bad decision’ — that’s where I feel like I’m still not 100 percent happy with myself all of the time. That’s one thing the one thing that I really want to look to improve on.”
Keys will next face Spain’s Lara Arruabarrena, who defeated No.28 seed Irina-Camelia Begu in three sets, but Patricia Maria Tig and Sorana Cirstea made it three Romanians in the third round behind a pair of second-round upsets of their own.
Tig recorded her first win against a top 20 player in defeating Kristina Mladenovic, 7-6(5), 6-2, while Cirstea was victorious in the conclusion of a rain-delayed match against No.19 seed Anastasija Sevastova, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3.
Tig also led a trio of qualifiers to advance to the third round, as Anett Kontaveit scored an upset over No.32 seed Ekaterina Makarova, 6-7(1), 6-2, 6-2 and American Taylor Townsend handled No.25 seed Roberta Vinci, 6-3, 6-2.
Third-round action begins in earnest on Saturday at the Crandon Park Tennis Center in Miami. We preview the day’s must-see matchups right here at WTATennis.com.
Saturday
Third round
[2] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #3) vs. [27] Yulia Putintseva (KAZ #32)
Head-to-head: Tied, 1-1
Key Stat: Pliskova is bidding for her 21st victory of the season. She would take over the WTA lead in that category with a win today.
Karolina Pliskova blasted past American Madison Brengle in the second round doing what she does best. She cracked 27 winners to just six for the American and took control of play early in rallies to cruise to a straight sets victory. She’ll look to do more of the same against fiery Yulia Putintseva on Saturday. Pliskova served 12 aces and raced by the 22-year-old Kazakh in straight sets in her first match of the season at the Brisbane International, and Pliskova will aim to continue that trend on Saturday. Putintseva won more than half of her return points against Germany’s Carina Witthoeft on Thursday, and broke serve six times in thirteen opportunities, but she’ll have her hands full against the WTA’s ace leader and will have to make the most of any opportunities she gets to pull the upset.
Pick: Pliskova in two
[4] Dominika Cibulkova (SVK #4) vs. Kirsten Flipkens (BEL #85)
Head-to-head: Cibulkova leads, 4-2
Key Stat: Cibulkova is playing at a career-high ranking of World No.4 this week.
2014 semifinalist Dominika Cibulkova improved to 15-9 at the Miami Open on Thursday with a straight-sets win over Paraguay’s Veronica Cepede Royg. On Saturday the No.4 seed will face the crafty stylings of Kirsten Flipkens, a savvy veteran that has made a living off of breaking the rhythm of the tour’s best players for years. In six previous meetings with the Belgian Cibulkova has had mixed results. But she won the pair’s last two meetings and will come in as the heavy favorite against the World No. 85, who has only won two of 21 lifetime meetings against Top 10 opponents on hardcourts.
Can Flipkens withstand the punishing ground game of Cibulkova and make enough traction with her eclectic blend of slice and dice, or will the indefatigable Cibulkova power past Flipkens and into the round of 16?
Pick: Cibulkova in two
[5] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #5) vs. [26] Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO #29)
Head-to-head: Radwanska leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Radwanska has won the singles title (2012) and the doubles title (2011) at Miami.
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni shocked Agnieszka Radwanska out of this year’s Australian Open and went on to reach a semifinal at a major for the first time since 1999. On Saturday the Croatian will try to summon the magic once again when she takes on the fifth-seeded Pole, who is a former champion and owns an impressive 29 career wins at Miami. As much as the 35-year-old Lucic-Baroni would like to bask in the glory of her colossal performance down under, she knows that Miami is another story, another chance for her to show the world that she can still play.
“Melbourne was exciting, it happened, but it already feels like it happened a long time ago,” Lucic-Baroni told WTA Insider after her three-set win over Kateryna Bondarenko on Thursday. “I definitely enjoyed it, but I don’t want to be stuck thinking about that. Look where we are: we’re in Miami, another big tournament. My feet are on the ground, and I’m fighting for every match.”
Radwanska will be fighting as well. After starting slowly in 2017, the Pole is eager to turn the page and make something special happen in Miami. “I think every tournament is different story,” Radwanska said before the tournament. “You just have to start from the beginning, and doesn’t matter what happened last week or two months ago. You just go on court and try and play your best.”
Pick: Radwanska in two
[6] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #6) vs. [30] Zhang Shuai (CHN #33)
Head-to-head: Zhang leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Muguruza improved to 6-1 in three-setters this season with her win over McHale on Friday.
After saving a match point and battling back from a break down in the third set to defeat American Christina McHale, Garbiñe Muguruza will now set her sights on matching her career-best performance at Miami. But to reach the round of 16 for the fourth time in six career appearances here, Muguruza will have to avenge a tough loss from earlier this season. Zhang defeated Muguruza, 7-6(3), 3-6, 7-5 in Doha in February, and the Chinese No.1 has now won three of her last five against the Top 10 after losing nine of eleven to start her career.
28-year-old Zhang is a remarkable story. After years of struggles she was contemplating retirement, but her fortunes have changed since the beginning of 2016 and she has risen over 100 spots in the WTA rankings in 15 months. Will she be able to continue her form against one of the game’s premier power players on Saturday, or will it be Muguruza who powers into the round of 16 with a new lease on life after saving match points on Friday?
Pick: Muguruza in three
By the Numbers:
20 – Karolina Pliskova is tied for the tour lead in wins with 20. The Czech did not score her 20th win until June last season.
5 – Agnieszka Radwanska has made the quarterfinal or better in five of her 11 appearances at Miami.
1 – Bethanie Mattek-Sands recorded her first win of the season on Thursday over No.9-seeded Elina Svitolina. It was also Mattek-Sand’s first Top 10 win since 2015.
13 – Ajla Tomljanovic’s win over No.13-ranked Elena Vesnina on Friday was her biggest win rankings-wise since 2014, when she defeated then World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska at Roland Garros.
Agnieszka Radwanska took on Mirjana Lucic-Baroni at the Miami Open.
No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska moved serenely into the second round of Wimbledon with a straight set win over Kateryna Kozlova.
Highlights of the clash at the Miami Open between Venus Williams and Patricia Maria Tig.
LONDON, Great Britain – Serena Williams and Venus Williams imposed their doubles dominance against the No.11 seeded team of Andreja Klepac and Katarina Srebotnik in their Wimbledon doubles opener to advance 7-5, 6-3.
The sisters started out sluggish in the first set as Venus, who finished her two hour and twenty-four minute marathon singles match against Maria Sakkari about two hours earlier, was broken twice to allow the Slovaks to build up a hefty 4-1 lead in the first set.
After trading breaks for 5-2, the Williams sisters broke again after Klepac couldn’t get out of the way of a Serena volley fast enough. Venus held serve for the first time just as the two started to kick it into high gear.
With Srebotnik serving for the set at 5-4, Venus fired a forehand long to give the Slovakian team three set points but immediately redeemed herself by saving one with a lunging volley on the stretch. She ripped a backhand passing shot up the middle of the court to clinch the break and level the score 5-5.
Finally fired up, the Williams sisters dropped just one point in the next two games to take the first set 7-5. They continued their romp into the second set, where they broke twice to get ahead 4-0. Klepac and Srebotnik stopped the streak of nine games in a row by getting one of the breaks back, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tide as Serena and Venus took the match for their first Wimbledon doubles win in two years.
Up next for the sibling duo are the Belgian team of Elise Mertens and An-Sophie Mestach, who took out the all-American team of Nicole Gibbs and Irina Falconi, 7-6(3), 6-1.
Another sibling duo moves on as the No.3 seeded sisters Chan Yung-Jan and Chan Hao-Ching battled past Ashleigh Barty and Laura Robson in a comfortable straight sets, 6-4, 6-2.
They’re joined in the second round by the No.13 seeds Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva after the Birmingham finalists came back to dispatch Nao Hibino and Alicija Rosolska 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, and by Darija Jurak and Anastasia Rodionova, who are fresh off of a title win at the Aegon International Eastbourne and downed the No.9 seeds Yifan Xu and Saisai Zheng 7-6(6), 2-6, 7-5.
5 sets today. 2 of them with my favorite tennis player @serenawilliams #sucess #wimbeldon https://t.co/MWPw4ZPhlu
— Venus Williams (@Venuseswilliams) June 30, 2016
No you are MY FAVORITE player. I love u so much ❤️❤️? #Repost @venuseswilliams with repostapp… https://t.co/kc8pTg92sY
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) June 30, 2016
More to come…
Venus Williams reflects on her performance against Patricia Maria Tig at the Miami Open.
MIAMI, FL, USA – No.3 seed Simona Halep was pushed to the brink in a late night epic against Sam Stosur, needing to come back from a set down and save match point to book her spot into the Miami Open quarterfinals.
Halep books a blockbuster battle against Johanna Konta after emerging victorious in the two-hour-and-ten minute thriller, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.
“It was a tough match, like I expected,” Halep told press after the match. “But the comeback was pretty good, and I’m really happy about that.
“The last comeback like this for me was in 2014, my first match in Doha against Kanepi. Match point down and I came back. I’m happy about this, shows I can still play some tennis.”
3rd Set!!@Simona_Halep saves a match point to force a decider vs Stosur 4-6, 7-5! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/s103xofKtn
— WTA (@WTA) 28 de marzo de 2017
The Romanian targeted the Aussie’s backhand throughout the early exchanges in the opening set, and was rewarded with an early break. She built up a solid 4-2 lead and looked set to wrap up the opening set, but Stosur had other plans.
Stosur got her heavy topspin forehand going and wreaking havoc on Halep’s game plan, and reeled off four straight games to snatch away the opening set. She went on a tear in the second, recovering from an early break and winning five of the next six games to serve for the match.
She even held a match point, at 5-4 on Halep’s serve, but the Romanian chose that moment to start mounting her epic comeback. A handful of loose errors from Stosur on key moments let Halep back into the set, and she took the next seven games in a row to take the second set and a break lead in the third.
With Stosur flagging and letting her aggression dip slightly, it was Halep who bossed the rallies and dictated play to extend the lead to 4-1. The Aussie didn’t have another comeback left in her, and Halep completed the comeback to move into the Miami quarterfinals.
Comeback Complete✔️@Simona_Halep saves a MATCH POINT to edge Stosur 4-6, 7-5, 6-2! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/0qeasy9VQ4
— WTA (@WTA) 28 de marzo de 2017
“When I was down, I wasn’t thinking about anything, nothing about the score,” Halep said. “I just wanted to fight. I didn’t give up, and I believed in my chance. I was maybe a little bit lucky because I came back from match point down, but still I fought for this.”
Halep will be rewarded for her efforts with another battle in the next round, this time against Britain’s No.1, Konta.
“It will be tough. She’s in a good form now, she’s near Top 10. And she plays great. It’s going to be a tough one, but here every match is tough so I don’t expect an easy one.
“I have my chance here to try my best and try to win, and of course tomorrow will help me to recover. Then I will go on court with confidence.”