Quarterfinal Showdown In Queen City
WTA Insider | In Friday’s Live Blog, the last eight do battle at the Western & Southern Open; keep up with all the action as Angelique Kerber continues her quest for No.1.
WTA Insider | In Friday’s Live Blog, the last eight do battle at the Western & Southern Open; keep up with all the action as Angelique Kerber continues her quest for No.1.
MELBOURNE, Australia – The 2017 Australian Open begins on Monday in Melbourne, with World No.1 and defending champion Angelique Kerber headlining the first night session on Rod Laver Arena. What else do you need to know about your favorite WTA stars as the first Grand Slam tournament of the season gets underway?
Click here for a full analysis of the draw, courtesy of WTA Insider.
1. Kerber contends for first-ever major title defense.
Kerber came away with an impressive haul of Grand Slam titles in 2016, bookending the season with wins Down Under and the US Open – taking the No.1 ranking at the latter. 2017 is a new ballgame for the German, who will seek to defend a major title for the first time in her career. Her first opponent is Lesia Tsurenko, with the likes of Eugenie Bouchard and Roberta Vinci looming in her section of the draw.
2. Serena could reclaim No.1 in Australia.
In the other half of the draw stands 22-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, who is firmly in the hunt for her seventh Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy in Melbourne. The American would have to reach the final to have a chance at wresting the No.1 ranking from Kerber; click here to find out how it would all have to shake out.
3. Radwanska feeling in Grand Slam rhythm.
Armed with a new racquet, No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska is the high seed in Serena’s half of the draw, projecting a rematch of their 2016 semifinal encounter Down Under. Radwanska shrugged off a tough week in Shenzhen to reach the final at the Apia International Sydney, but has a potentially tricky opener against Tsvetana Pironkova. The Bulgarian beat Radwanska in their most recent meeting at last year’s French Open.
4. Halep in hot pursuit of first major title.
No.4 seed Simona Halep also started her year in Shenzhen, but arrived last week for some early preparation in Melbourne on the advice of coach Darren Cahill. The Romanian opens against American Shelby Rogers, and is aiming to build on her pair of quarterfinal appearances earned in 2014 and 2015.
5. Cibulkova seeking Singapore stepping stone.
No.5 seed Dominika Cibulkova ended 2016 on an all-time high, winning the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global and reaching a best-ever ranking of No.5. The Slovak’s biggest major success came in Melbourne, where she reached the final back in 2014.
6. Is this Pliskova’s breakthrough moment?
Karolina Pliskova fell before the second week in her first 17 Grand Slam appearances, but made up for lost time in style at the US Open, where she rolled past both Williams sisters en route to the final. The Czech looked just as tough in Brisbane to start 2017, winning the tournament alongside new coach David Kotyza and moving back up to a career-high of No.5.
7. Muguruza feeding off good Melbourne memories.
Garbiñe Muguruza enjoyed a strong start to the season before injury forced her to retire from the Brisbane International semifinals. Still, the the No.7 seed feels fit and fresh ahead of the Australian Open, starting off against New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic on Monday.
8. Kuznetsova rounds out Top 8.
Kuznetsova burned some serious rubber on the Road to Singapore last fall, narrowly qualifying to become the story of the tournament, reaching the semifinals. This year, Kuznetsova is feeling calm as she hopes to surpass the quarterfinals, her previous best finish in Australia.
9. Venus & Serena headline the doubles draw.
The Australian Open women’s doubles draw came out on Sunday, with Wimbledon winners Venus and Serena Williams coming in as the most dangerous floaters in the draw, seeded No.15. The pair could play No.2 seeds Lucie Safarova and new World No.1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the third round.
10. No.1 up for grabs in Australia.
The singles No.1 isn’t the only ranking under threat at the Australian Open. Mattek-Sands narrowly took the top spot from Sania Mirza in Brisbane, ending the Indian star’s 91-week reign. But Elena Vesnina and the French team of Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic all have a shot of taking No.1 during the fortnight. Click here to find out how.
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.”
MELBOURNE, Australia – An ageless Venus Williams played remarkable tennis in the high heat of the Australian Open, knocking out a game Kateryna Kozlova, 7-6(5), 7-5.
“Girl, I don’t know,” Venus joked when asked how she got the job done during her on-court interview. “I know how to play tennis, and I like to think I’m good at this. She hasn’t had the years I’ve had, the grey hair I’m dyeing, the wrinkles I’m hiding.”
V never goes out of style.#ausopen pic.twitter.com/jUf4wJ9eeN
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 16, 2017
Seeded No.13, Venus was playing just her second match of 2017 after withdrawing from the ASB Classic due to right-arm pain, and was taking on a tricky opponent in Kozlova, who took her to three sets at the US Open last summer. In an ironic twist, the 22-year-old was born the same year Venus turned pro back in 1994.
“You’re trying to make me feel old!” joked Williams.
Kozlova served for the first set but the seven-time Grand Slam champion’s experience shone through when it mattered most, breaking the young Ukrainian to win the ensuing tie-break.
“Just from the warm-up it looked like she was just ready to go, hitting it solid,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I really have to give her a lot of credit for playing a match that was not a lot of errors and just relentless.
“I guess when I walk out there I have to expect that from my opponents and not an easy first round, but a great first round to get through, for sure.”
She twirls her way to 2R. Go #Venus #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/hzCSYDY3Jp
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 16, 2017
Venus appeared to struggle with the heat at times, relying on ice towels to keep cool during the changeovers.
“I’m a Floridian, so I’m pretty good with heat,” she admitted. “But obviously, if it’s going to be hot, I think with players, you can train in the heat the week before. This last week it was kind of cool, actually, a lot of the time. So it’s definitely a wildcard, like, total wildcard.”
Despite losing some momentum in the second set, the American rebounded to take the last three games of the match and advance into the second round after just over two hours.
Up next for the former World No.1 is either Stefanie Voegele or Kurumi Nara.
A wonderful start for #Venus #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/QVhFuaUdDg
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 16, 2017
We asked WTA Legends like Li Na, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova to create the perfect players – here’s who they think has the best serve, forehand, mental ability and more!
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
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova takes on Natalia Vikhlyantseva in the second round of the Australian Open.
KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan – Venus Williams booked her spot in the Taiwan Open final without dropping a set all tournament long, but the No.1 seed had to overcome a stiff challenge from Yulia Putintseva to get there.
Watch live action from St. Petersburg & Kaohsiung this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
At the start, it seemed like the match was going to be smooth sailing for the American – Williams broke the No.3 seed early and rushed ahead to a 4-1 lead. But after some words from her coach during the changeover, Putintseva roared to life, winning four out of the next five games to level the score at 5-5.
They stayed toe to toe until a double fault and a mishit forehand from Putintseva gave Williams a break to close out the opening set at 7-5.
Williams and Putintseva started out the second set as evenly matched as they ended the previous one: they traded breaks and holds to keep the score tied at 2-2. But from then the errors began to creep up on Putintseva and Williams closed out the match 7-5, 6-3.
“What a tough opponent today,” Williams said of Putintseva after the match. “She has so much energy.
“It was very difficult to win, but I’m very glad to be in the final tomorrow.”
Awaiting Williams in the final is another opponent who has yet to lose a set: No.2 seeded Misaki Doi. Doi dashed Taiwan’s hopes for a home champion when she brushed aside local favorite Hsieh Su-Wei in commanding fashion, dropping just two games in the 6-0, 6-2 thrashing.
Tomorrow’s final will be the first time Williams and Doi will play each other.
“I’ve never played her before,” Williams said. “I have no idea what to expect.”
“But to be in the final you have to play well, so I’m sure to expect the best tennis from her.”
CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Following a couple of semifinal masterclasses, Angelique Kerber and Karolina Pliskova go into Sunday’s Western & Southern Open final on top of their game. Here are 10 of SAP’s finest facts ahead of their summer showdown…
(2) Angelique Kerber (GER #2) vs Karolina Pliskova (CZE #17)
Head-To-Head: Kerber leads, 4-2
1) Pliskova has historically proven to be a difficult foe for Kerber.
Despite sitting 15 places above Pliskova in the rankings, Kerber has struggled in their previous match-ups. While several of these came prior to Pliskova establishing herself at the top of the game, the recent encounters have invariably been close. This is also the third straight time they have clashed in a final, following three-set victories for the German last year in Birmingham and Stanford.
2) Both players no stranger to the business end of tournaments.
Since those encounters one summer ago, both Kerber and Pliskova have been regular finalists. Pliskova lost out in a high-quality shoot-out with Venus Williams at the season-ending WTA Elite Trophy, then enjoyed mixed fortunes at the grass court events in Nottingham and Eastbourne this June. Kerber, meanwhile has mixed it at a higher level, most memorably beating Serena Williams at the Australian Open to lift her maiden Grand Slam. She followed this up with a title in Stuttgart before going on to contest the finals at Wimbledon and the Rio Olympics.
3) The form guide.
After a slight lull following January’s Australian Open triumph, Kerber has enjoyed a productive summer, appearing in the Wimbledon and Olympic finals, winning 19 of her past 22 matches. Pliskova’s campaign, on the other hand, has been more of an up and down affair, standout performances in Nottingham, Eastbourne and Indian Wells (where she ran Victoria Azarenka close in the semifinals) interspersed with several surprise losses and her continued search for a breakthrough at one of the four majors.
4) Flying the flag.
Since its return to the circuit in 2003, players from seven different countries (Belarus, Belgium, China, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland and the USA) have been crowned Cincinnati champion. The closest a Czech or German came during this time was Kerber’s loss to Li Na in the 2012 final, so the number is guaranteed to rise to eight.
5) Outsider for the title.
World No.17 Pliskova is bidding to become the first player ranked outside the Top 10 to triumph at the Lindner Family Tennis center since No.21 Nadia Petrova in 2008.
6) Change in Cincinnati fortunes.
Aside from her visits to the final this year and in 2012, Kerber has struggled to make an impression in Cincinnati, winning a combined total of four matches from her other four visits. Pliskova’s resume was even barer, losing her second match in 2015 after falling in qualifying the previous three years.
7) Cincinnati will have a significant impact on the WTA rankings.
Victory for Kerber on Sunday will see her end Serena Williams’ 183-week reign atop the rankings. She will be the 22nd woman to reach World No.1 and first German since the legendary Steffi Graf. Pliskova’s run, meanwhile, guarantees she will rise to at least No.15, and No.11 should she lift the title.
8) Path to the final.
After edging past Barbora Strycova in two closely contested sets, Kerber’s No.1 hopes looked to be fizzling out when she trailed quarterfinal opponent Carla Suárez Navarro by a set and a break. Somehow she escaped before ending Simona Halep’s 13-match winning streak in the semifinals. Pliskova has also dropped just the one set, against Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals, on an otherwise serene journey to the final.
9) Hard to beat.
Bother finalists have enjoyed some of the sweetest – as well as heartbreaking – moments of their career on hardcourts. This will be Kerber’s 15th final on hard (she was victorious in five of the previous 14), while nine of Pliskova’s 15 finals have come on the surface, winning three of them.
10) Pliskova serving notice.
Pliskova progress has been helped by some particularly potent serving. In four matches she has fired 40 aces and been broken just four times. Kerber, by contrast, has hit seven aces and lost her serve 10 times.
