Montréal: Kucova Interview
An interview with Kristina Kucova after her win in the third round of the Rogers Cup.
An interview with Kristina Kucova after her win in the third round of the Rogers Cup.
BRISBANE, Australia – The unseeded Alizé Cornet is through to the final at the Brisbane International after Garbiñe Muguruza was forced to retire due to injury.
“I was really focused on my match but I could tell [Garbiñe] was not playing like usual,” Cornet said in her post-match interview. “She was not running or hitting the ball as well as usual. But I was just trying to stay focused on what I had to do.”
The No.4 seeded Spaniard looked off from the start, her usually powerful groundstrokes lacking their bite. She struggled to hold serve in the opening game under Cornet’s all-court assault, fending off two break points.
But Muguruza was broken in her very next service game after a string of long rallies which saw her struggle to hit through the ball, and finally retired trailing Cornet 1-4, citing a right thigh injury.
.@GarbiMuguruza retires after being down 1-4.@AlizeCornet moves into the @BrisbaneTennis Final! pic.twitter.com/ydFI8tBXqA
— WTA (@WTA) January 6, 2017
“Of course, it’s not the way I wanted to get to the final but its part of the game,” Cornet explained. “We understand sometimes we have some physical issues. Tennis is more and more tough on the body.
“But well, it’s good for me because I will have a little bit of rest before the big final tomorrow.”
Aside from securing a spot into her second career Premier-level final, the win guarantees Cornet a seed at the Australian Open. The Frenchwoman’s ranking will rise as high as No.31 by virtue of reaching the final, and could go as high as No.26 should she take home the title.
Cornet awaits the winner between No.6 seed Elina Svitolina and No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova.
An interview with Victoria Azarenka after her semifinal win at the Brisbane International.
MONTRÉAL, Canada – Simona Halep moved impressively into the last eight of the Rogers Cup with a straight set win over Karolina Pliskova on Thursday.
Watch live action from Montréal this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Sixty-eight minutes was all it took for Halep, the runner-up 12 months ago, to defuse the big-serving Pliskova and complete a 6-3, 6-3 win.
“I’m happy that I won today. It’s nice to be in the quarterfinals again, a second year in a row,” Halep said during her on-court interview. “I enjoy my time here and I’m looking forward to the next round already.”
That match will pit her against Daria Kasatkina after she upset No.7 seed Roberta Vinci, 7-5, 6-3.
If Halep reproduces the level of tennis that dispatched Pliskova she will prove hard to beat; the Romanian barely put a foot out of place, hitting 22 winners and just nine unforced errors to extend her post-Wimbledon unbeaten streak.
As early as the second game, Halep’s agility and movement was putting her in the ascendency, instinctively darting right to flash a forehand past Pliskova. A couple of points later she had the break, the same wing once again outmaneuvering the Czech.
While Halep was unable to hang onto this advantage she was soon back in front, dragging Pliskova all over the court to open up a 4-2 lead. This time she made Pliskova pay, wrapping up the set with another fizzing forehand a few games later.
Her dominance was even more apparent in the second set, the No.5 seed taking four of the last five games to secure her passage through.
“She’s a good player, I knew that well – I’ve played her a couple of times already this year, so I knew she was going to be very strong,” Halep added. “But I played some good tennis, a high level, and I moved very well.”
Following victory on home soil in Bucharest, Halep has now won seven straight matches, and 20 of her past 23: “I can say that I’m confident, I have a few matches in a row that I won. I’m coming here without expectation, just to enjoy the tennis and to do my best always.”
Les Petits As @banquenationale ont eu la chance d'échanger des balles avec @Simona_Halep après sa victoire. pic.twitter.com/3eUo53zeta
— Coupe Rogers (@CoupeRogers) 28 July 2016
Lauren Davis came out on top in a battle of rising stars at the ASB Classic, where she defeated Ana Konjuh in straight sets to take home her first WTA title.
Victoria Azarenka has Friday’s shot of the day at the Brisbane International.
MONTRÉAL, Canada – Simona Halep capped off a productive Friday afternoon at the Rogers Cup by teaming up with Monica Niculescu to reach the doubles semifinals.
Watch live action from Montréal this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
A few hours after defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova in the singles quarterfinals, Halep was back out on court alongside Niculescu. If Halep was feeling any fatigue she hid it well, playing her part in a surprise 6-4, 3-6, 10-8 win over No.2 seeds and reigning French Open champions Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic.
The last time Halep made it this far in doubles at a WTA event came alongside Maria Elena Camerin in Linz in 2012, since when she has focused her attention primarily on singles. However, her decision to take a wildcard with fellow Romanian Niculescu to help acclimatize to the North American cement has proven to be an inspired one.
In front of a healthy number of their compatriots on the Banque Nationale court, both players rose to the occasion during an entertaining finale. With Halep imperious from the baseline, they rallied from 7-4 down to complete the upset when Niculescu fired a backhand past the stranded Mladenovic.
“Playing with Monica, she’s very tough and very concentrated during the matches. But she motivates me pretty well,” Halep said. “Today it was a crazy match. The opponents are playing well; they won the French Open, it was a good win for us.”
Meeting them for a place in the final will be Andreja Klepac and Katarina Srebotnik, who saw off Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Heather Watson, 6-3, 4-6, 10-7.
On the other side of the draw, there was another surprise as Christina McHale and Asia Muhammad knocked out top seeds Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza. Early breaks in both sets made the difference in a tight contest as the American duo ran out 6-4, 6-3 winners.
Restoring a sense of order at the Stade Uniprix were No.4 seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, who moved one step closer to their first title since 2014 with a 7-6(1), 6-0 victory over Australian wildcards Daria Gavrilova and Samantha Stosur.
Semifinal @katemakarova1 @CoupeRogers ?Полуфинал? #teamrussia #teamvesninamakarova pic.twitter.com/rIpPagfB7x
— Elena Vesnina (@EVesnina001) 29 July 2016
Karolina Pliskova talks through her performance in her victory in the final of the Brisbane International.
HOBART, Australia – No.2 seed Camila Giorgi had a tough battle to start her week at the Hobart International, but the big-hitting Italian had few problems against rising Japanese star Nao Hibino to reach her first WTA quarterfinal of the season, winning, 6-2, 6-3.
Play in Hobart suffered a slight delay to start as rain threatened to wash out the opening matches. Known for her effortless power, Giorgi made up for lost time in style against Hibino, maintaining a healthy 68% on first serves, and only dropping serve once per set.
“Every match is different,” Giorgi said after the match. “The conditions are different. The important thing is to go on so you can get better.”
Hibino had been looking strong to start the season, having already made the quarterfinals of the ASB Classic, but Giorgi – who pushed Angelique Kerber to three sets at the Brisbane Internaitonal – was too strong over the one hour, 11 minute match.
Giorgi next plays the winner of the second round match between No.8 seed Alison Van Uytvanck and Eugenie Bouchard, who lost just three games in her first round match against former nemesis Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
“It’s just a match, so it doesn’t matter who I play. I will be focused on me, like always.”
More to come…
Madison Keys takes on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup.