Kerber, Cibulkova & More Glam Up For Doha Player Gala
Take a look inside the glamorous Doha Player Gala with Angelique Kerber, Dominika Cibulkova, Agnieszka Radwanska and more WTA stars at the Qatar Total Open!
Take a look inside the glamorous Doha Player Gala with Angelique Kerber, Dominika Cibulkova, Agnieszka Radwanska and more WTA stars at the Qatar Total Open!
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Former World No.4 and 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone reached her first WTA final since 2013 with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Petra Martic.
Playing in her first WTA semifinal in nearly 18 months (2014, Hong Kong), Schiavone put down four aces and won 84% of points behind her first serve against Martic, herself a former World No.42 who one made the second week of Roland Garros back in 2012.
It had been a difficult start to 2016 for Schiavone, who missed out on a 62nd consecutive Grand Slam main draw appearance when she fell in the second round of qualifying at the Australian Open.
“When I chose Rio, I chose it mainly because it was clay,” Schiavone said in her post-match press conference. “I remembered the conditions here being very difficult, so I trained as much as is possible for me to prepare myself on clay to be ready for the heat and the effort.
“Obviously when you come here, you try to prepare as much as you can, but you don’t think ‘I’m going there to win it,’ no, no. It’s a wonderful surprise; it’s been a long time since I’ve had this big a result, so I’m taking it as it comes.”
Schiavone next plays resurgent American Shelby Rogers. Playing her first WTA main draw since the Coupe Banque Nationale last fall, Rogers ended the excellent adventure of Sorana Cirstea, a former World No.21 who had amassed a 12-1 record heading into the semifinal by reaching back-to-back finals at two Challenger tournaments in Brazil.
“It feels amazing. I’ve had a really great week, played some good matches,” Rogers said in her post-match press conference. “I got a little momentum at the beginning, but this year has been good so far; I’ve already played a lot of matches, so that’s been a big help.
“Winning this many matches in a row and playing very well is definitely a confidence-builder, but I’ve also had to fight through some tough moments in those matches. Those are where I really get confidence from, so hopefully I can carry that into tomorrow and through the rest of the year.”
Rogers won, 6-4, 6-4, and will be playing Schiavone for the first time in what will be her second career WTA final (Schiavone’s 18th).
“Rogers is a player I don’t know very well,” Schiavone said. “But it’s going to be interesting. A final is really a 50-50 chance.”
In doubles, Veronica Cepede Royg and María Irigoyen captured the doubles final with a 6-1, 7-6(5) win over Tara Moore and Conny Perrin. For Paraguay’s Cepede Royg, the Rio Open is her first WTA title of any king, while Irigoyen won her only previous WTA title back in 2014, playing doubles in Rio with Irina-Camelia Begu.
“I want to thank my partner for the amazing week we had here in Rio,” Cepede Royg said after the match. “I’m really happy for winning my first WTA title in Rio.:
“This is such an enchanting place and the city is beautiful,” Irigoyen added. “I love coming here, people are really receptive and it was a special week.”
Zhang Shuai pulled off two tough wins in one day to reach the quarterfinals of the Qatar Total Open.
DOHA, Qatar – Former World No.5 Eugenie Bouchard recovered from a 2-5 final set deficit and later from match point down to dispatch resurgent Latvian Anastasija Sevastova, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(4) in the first round of the Qatar Total Open.
“I wanted to make it exciting for everyone,” Bouchard joked during her on-court interview when asked about the dramatic win that took nearly two-and-half hours.
The Canadian was playing her first tournament since the Australian Open – where she lost to eventual semifinalist Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round – and was very nearly out of it against Sevastova, a former World No.36 who returned to tennis at the start of 2015 following a brief retirement.
“It was all kind of a blur, really. I was just in the moment, and just kept trying to fight.
“It’s been a while since I played a match and I didn’t want to leave Doha that soon, so I’m glad to stay her another couple of days.”
Bouchard has seen her ranking fall to No.61 due to a combination of injuries and inconsistencies, but the 2014 Wimbledon runner-up had a bright start to 2016 when she reached the final of the Hobart International, and showed off some of her signature aggression against Sevastova, hitting 40 winners to 49 unforced errors. Sevastova hit fewer errors at 36, but 11 fewer winners.
“I’m just so grateful to be back on tour after a rough end of last season. I’m just so happy to be doing what I love, to be playing in front of you guys, to enjoy this life.
“I love it; I love my job, so that’s the main thing and I just want to keep getting better.”
Bouchard next plays the winner of Denisa Allertova and No.15 seed Elina Svitolina, who recently hired former No.1 Justine Henin as a coaching consultant and made the semis at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships just last week. The Canadian could face reigning Australian Open champion and top seed Angelique Kerber should both advance to the third round.
Earlier in the day, the WTA’s horde of young Russians continued to impress in their first round matches; Daria Kasatkina survived a second set hiccup to defeat qualifier Qiang Wang – who took out ASB Classic champion Sloane Stephens in Melbourne – 6-1, 2-6, 6-3.
Kasatkina’s compatriot Margarita Gasparyan was even more emphatic against No.10 seed Karolina Pliskova, dropping just two games in a 6-1, 6-1 win that took just under 50 minutes.
“I’m so happy that I won today,” she said during her on-court interview, this her first win over a Top 15 player.
“I’ve played Serena twice in Wimbledon and in Australia; it was amazing. I feel comfortable now playing in the big moments. It’s a nice atmosphere and I’m enjoying getting to play here.”
Fellow youngsters Jelena Ostapenko and Donna Vekic were also straight set winners in Doha, while veteran Kateryna Bondarenko – another comeback kid who returned to tennis 18 months ago after becoming a mother – defeated Annika Beck in straight sets, as well.
In the last match of the day, a pair of former Top 10 players in Ekaterina Makarova and Andrea Petkovic faced off in the first round; the German emerged victorious in just over an hour, 6-3, 6-2.
An interview with Caroline Wozniacki after her victory in the second round of the Qatar Total Open.
Caroline Wozniacki has Thursday’s shot of the day at the Qatar Total Open.
The Middle East swing continues to Doha for the Qatar Total Open and Angelique Kerber, Agnieszka Radwanska and Simona Halep hit the harbor to take in the city’s spectacular skyline.
Monica Puig takes on Daria Kasatkina in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Total Open.
ACAPULCO, Mexico – Playing her first WTA match since her incredible Australia campaign, Victoria Azarenka shook off the rust and withstood a tough challenge from Polona Hercog, coming back from a set down to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the first round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
“I don’t really come with too many expectations to any tournament, and this is not an exception,” Azarenka told press after the match. “I’m here trying to work on my game.
“My first match, it was a little bit uncomfortable at first. But I need to do that in matches to improve my game.”
Azarenka, who was making her Acapulco main draw debut, was up against the World No.82 Hercog, who was a finalist here in 2010. She struggled in the first set and showed signs of frustration – Azarenka was broken three times and her powerful groundstrokes were misfiring, racking up unforced errors. The Belarusian got one break back and fought off a set point, but gave up the first set 6-4.
Dropping the opening set seemed to be just the motivation that Azarenka needed, though, and once her game clicked, there was no looking back. She broke Hercog for 4-2 and went on to grab the next two of three games, winning the set 6-3. Azarenka was nearly unstoppable in the third – after Hercog held serve to get on board, Azarenka won the next six games to close out the match in commanding fashion, 6-1.
“I had way too many unforced errors in the beginning, but it wasn’t really a big deal,” Azarenka said of her adjustments in the second half of the match. “Just little mistakes there and there – I just cleaned it up.
“I just tried to stay a little bit more consistent and really take my opportunities better and execute my game better. “
Though she survived the tough encounter, Azarenka won’t be getting a break in the next match. Awaiting her in the second round is the on fire Dominika Cibulkova, who dominated her clash with Lourdes Dominguez Lino, winning 6-0, 6-0.
“It went pretty well,” the always-understated Cibulkova commented after the 52-minute match. “I was really strong mentally today and that’s why I won.
“I wouldn’t say I was playing really, really good. I was playing OK, I played the way I needed to play.”
She didn’t face a single break point in the straight sets romp, and didn’t let the blustery conditions affect her. What helped her stay focused?
“I am an experienced player so I know how to not get crazy about the heat, the sun and the shades,” she said, referring to the tough conditions on the grandstand court. “If I’m thinking about everything else but not the game, it would be much more tough.”
Also though to the second round is Shelby Rogers – last week’s Acapulco finalist – who survived a tough opening set to defeat Anna Tatishvili 7-6(6), 6-0. Christina McHale downed Heather Watson 4-6, 6-0, 7-6(1) to advance. No.7 seed Danka Kovinic, qualifier Julia Glushko and Olga Govortosova are through as well.
– Angelique Kerber’s bad day: Nothing was working for the Australian Open champion in her disappointing 7-5, 6-1 loss to Zheng Saisai. It was Kerber’s first tour match since her Melbourne triumph and she struggled to find any rhythm off the ground, firing 38 unforced errors to Zheng’s eight. A frustrated Kerber told her coach Torben Beltz during their on-court coaching timeout that she felt “empty” inside.
“I was practicing very well in the last few days,” Kerber said. “But today, my practice this morning was not the best. So I was feeling not good from the beginning.
“I think you have sometimes days like this. Of course it’s sad that’s the first round here in Doha for me. Still, I mean, it was not my day. That’s all I can say today.”
The loss opens the door for No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska, who won in straight sets, to grab the No.2 ranking this week. She can do so if she wins the Doha title. After a day of upsets, Radwanska is now the highest ranked player in the draw.
– Zheng Saisai’s near-miss: After beating Australian Open champion Kerber, Zheng was back on court and nearly pulled off an even bigger upset over Australian Open champions Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza. Zheng and her partner Xu Yi-Fan led 4-2 in the match tiebreak before losing eight straight points to lose 6-4, 4-6, 10-4. The win extends Mirza and Hingis’ win streak to 41 consecutive matches.
You just defeated the 2016 @AustralianOpen champion.
“I know, OMG!” ? #WTA https://t.co/dprzkIGnwS
— WTA (@WTA) February 23, 2016
– Simona Halep: The No.4 will lose ground in the rankings on Monday after wasting 7-5, 4-1 lead to lose 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-1 to Elena Vesnina. The win was Vesnina’s first Top 10 win since 2013.
With the loss, Halep went winless in the Middle East, a particularly frustrating result after she appeared to play much better during the Fed Cup weekend.
Halep has nearly 1,400 points to defend in Indian Wells and Miami.
– Garbiñe Muguruza set to return to the Top 4: The Spaniard rolled past Nao Hibino with a 6-2, 6-0 win in the first round in Doha and will move ahead of Halep in the rankings on Monday, at No.4, though she does have a chance to move up to No.3 this week as well.
– Daria Kasatkina continues to show promise: The 18-year-old held three match points against Roberta Vinci but couldn’t close, losing 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(3). Kasatkina keeps putting herself in winning positions in these key matches, but the nerves seem to be her undoing when trying to close things out. Experience should change that.
– Timea Babos, ace leader: Seven weeks into the season and the tour’s ace leaderboard may surprise you:
#WTA 2016 Aces Leaders – Entering Doha:
67 Timea Babos
57 Julia Goerges
55 Karolina Pliskova
54 Maria Sharapova
54 Serena Williams— Kevin Fischer (@Kfish_WTA) February 23, 2016
Babos knocked out Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships winner Sara Errani to advance to the third round on Tuesday.
– Petra Kvitova gets on the board: Kvitova extended her streak to 18 consecutive wins over Czech opposition, beating Barbora Strycova 7-6(2), 6-4 for her second win of the season. She’ll play Jelena Ostapenko for a spot in the quarterfinals.
– Eugenie Bouchard’s draw opens up: The Canadian secured her ninth win of the year with a 7-6 (0), 7-5 win over Denisa Allertova in Doha. She’ll play Zheng for a spot in her first Premier quarterfinal since the 2014 Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
– Lucie Safarova’s title defense ends early: Getting back on court after a long bout with a bacterial infection was a victory in itself for Safarova. But she has some way to go to rediscover her 2015 form, losing 7-6(6), 7-5 to No.162 Cagla Buyakakcay.
World No.161 @CaglaBuyukakcay stuns defending @QatarTennis champ Safarova 7-6(6), 7-5!
First Top 20 win! #WTA https://t.co/LpVANfp0x7
— WTA (@WTA) February 23, 2016
– Victoria Azarenka rebounds in Acapulco: The top seed was made to work but started her Mexico campaign with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over Polona Hercog. She plays Dominika Cibulkova in the second round. Cibulkova dropped a double-bagel win on Lourdes Dominguez Lino to start her tournament.
– Upset Mainia: Check out the WTA Insider Podcast for all the latest on what some of what this week’s surprising early results portend for the rest of the season: