Vinci Battles To Nürnberg Victory
Top seed Roberta Vinci overcame a mid-match blip to defeat Barbora Krejcikova and advance to the second round of the NÜRNBERGER VERSICHERUNGSCUP.
Top seed Roberta Vinci overcame a mid-match blip to defeat Barbora Krejcikova and advance to the second round of the NÜRNBERGER VERSICHERUNGSCUP.
Garbiñe Muguruza’s best results have come on hardcourts. She won the China Open last fall and proceeded to storm her way into the semifinals of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global a few weeks later. But before all that hardcourt success, Paris is where she made her name.
The 22-year-old Spaniard earned her breakout win at the French Open in 2014, when she blasted past Serena Williams in a 6-2, 6-2 romp that lead to her first major quarterfinal. And to dispel any notion that the run was a fluke, she followed it up last year with yet another run to the quarterfinals, beating Angelique Kerber and Flavia Pennetta en route.
While guile, athleticism, and craft governed the terre battue in years past, today’s game requires power. Muguruza has that in spades. Though her 2016 season has yet to live up to the promise of how she finished 2015, Muguruza has played far better than her results would indicate. She’s been on the losing end of two of the best sets of tennis played this year, tallying a tough straight set loss to Victoria Azarenka at the Miami Open and then, in to Madison Keys last week in the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
That semifinal was her first of the season and her run up to that match was a dominant one. She lost just six games on her way to the quarterfinals, where she dispatched an in-form Timea Bacsinszky in straight sets.
Bonjour à tous ?? ??? pic.twitter.com/wcyvAK7RQU
— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) May 18, 2016
“It was a great week for me,” Muguruza said in Rome. “I would like, for sure, to be in the final and win, but I felt really good playing these matches here, so it’s perfect for French Open.”
Throughout this season, Muguruza has played like a woman who felt the pressure of expectations. After finishing 2015 at No.3, many expected Muguruza to come flying out of the gates on hard courts. But under the bright spotlight she struggled, partly due to injury. It all seemed to come to a head a few weeks ago at the Mutua Madrid Open. The focus of local attention from the start, Muguruza took a tough loss to a streaking Irina-Camelia Begu in the second round.
A week later in Rome, she seemed far more relaxed. She played freely and with a clear sense of purpose. It was as if the pressure of the season dissipated after Madrid and she could just get back to work. If she plays the same way in Paris a deep second week run should be in the cards.
Muguruza will be seeded fourth in Paris, meaning she will avoid a quarterfinal showdown with Serena. Her game is perfectly suited for the clay in Paris, with enough power to finish points and hold serve, with enough court craft to work herself out of defensive positions. Under coach Sam Sumyk, Muguruza has been quick to try and finish points at the net. It’s yet another important development to her game and again, one that will pay dividends in Paris.
Entreno matinal en el Club de Campo antes de poner rumbo a Roma. Last practice before heading to Rome. pic.twitter.com/2HkjUjJas0
— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) May 6, 2016
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STRASBOURG, France – No.4 seed Kristina Mladenovic reached her first semifinal of the season with a 6-4, 6-2 win over qualifier and fellow doubles star Alla Kudryavtseva at the Internationaux de Strasbourg.
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Mladenovic took to court 24 hours after clinching an epic third set tie-break over Alison Riske, and exchanged four straight service breaks to start against Kudryavtseva, a former World No.56 who was playing her first WTA quarterfinal in nearly 18 months.
“It was a quick match and it’s the ideal scenario before a semifinal, to be able to get some rest and not walk out on the court tomorrow tired,” Mladenovic told wtatennis.com after the match.
“I changed up my shots a lot today which i think was the key.”
Settling quicker, the French youngster survived losing serve in the penultimate games of each set to ease past the hard-hitting veteran, who is poised to move up over 30 spots following a run through qualifying that saw her take out No.9 seed Alizé Cornet in the first round.
Mladenovic became the third from her country to advance into the Strasbourg semifinals on Thursday, after Caroline Garcia and Virginie Razzano both reached the final four; the last time three French women made it this far at a WTA tournament was in 2006, when Tatiana Golovin, Mary Pierce and Amélie Mauresmo all contested for the Paris Indoor title – ultimately won by Mauresmo.
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni ended the hopes of a first French shutout for the first time since the 1999 Generali Ladies Linz (Mauresmo, Pierce, Sarah Pitkowski, Sandrine Testud), defeating Pauline Parmentier, 6-0, 6-1, to complete the semifinal line-up.
“You always want people from your county to do well and it’s great for French Tennis in general, and nice for the fans here – this is our home,” Mladenovic said of the high level of French success in Strasbourg.
Lucic-Baroni is not only in her first WTA semifinal of the season, but this is the farthest she has been in Strasbourg since 1997 when, within weeks of turning pro at 15 years old, she reached the final – falling to former No.1 and WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai Tournament Ambassador Stefanie Graf.
“It was pretty perfect,” the veteran said after the match. “You can’t ask for much more. I’ve been playing really well. And she’s a great player. It’s just I played really well today and didn’t let her in.”
Forced into qualifying after failing to enter the tournament in time ended up being an auspicious opportunity to the Croat to play her way into form, upsetting No.8 seed Timea Babos earlier in the week.
“I missed the deadline by one day – one day!” She laughed. “So I entered qualies. I got two extra matches and it was a really good decision, clearly.
“I’ve been here a few times, but many years ago. It a beautiful tournament, a beautiful city and right before Roland Garros, so it’s good for confidence.”
A former World No.16, Razzano continues to play her best tennis in Strasbourg, reaching her second straight semifinal at the WTA International, again beating Elena Vesnina in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.
“It’s great to be in the semifinal – my first for a long time!” the veteran exclaimed after the match. “It was a quick turn around from last night’s win. Right now I’m playing well.
“Today against Vesnina it wasn’t easy despite the scores in the first and third set. I’ve found my rhythm and it’s been building from my wins against Shvedova, Puig and playing in qualies.
“I’m working hard. Today it’s paid off.”
Garcia was the second Frenchwoman to advance with Samantha Stosur was forced to withdraw from the event citing a left wrist injury.
“I have had some pain in my left wrist for the last few days,” the Aussie said. “I tried to practice yesterday and felt a lot of discomfort and unfortunately I can’t take to the court today.
“It’s difficult as I’ve rarely had to withdraw from a match in my career.
“I’ve played some good tennis here this week and I’m disappointed I won’t be able to properly defend my title here in Strasbourg .”
PARIS, France – Friday’s French Open draw has placed defending champion Serena Williams on a quarterfinal collision course with rival Victoria Azarenka.
Williams, the top seed in the French capital, heads up a strong top half of the draw which features fellow Grand Slam champions Azarenka, Venus Williams, Angelique Kerber, Ana Ivanovic and Francesca Schiavone.
Four years ago Williams was victim of one of the great upsets in French Open history, succumbing to World No.111 Virginie Razzano in the first round. Meeting her at that stage this time around is Magdalena Rybarikova.
Should she clear this hurdle, the American will face either Teliana Pereira or Kristyna Pliskova in the second round, before potential dates with French No.1 Kristina Mladenovic and 2008 champion Ivanovic in the third and fourth rounds, respectively.
However, most intriguing is the prospective showdown between Williams and Azarenka in the last eight. While Williams has won the vast majority of their 21 encounters, it has rarely been straightforward, the Belarusian running her close several times last year – including in Paris – and coming out on top this March in Indian Wells.
Since following up her Indian Wells triumph with victory in Miami, Azarenka’s progress has stalled slightly, a back injury hampering her clay court campaign. And if she is to make her appointment with Williams she will need a clean bill of health, after landing in a section of the draw that also includes Andrea Petkovic, Carla Suárez Navarro and Dominika Cibulkova.
No.3 seed Angelique Kerber finds herself in slightly less threatening company, although she will be wary of prospective third-round opponent Daria Kasatkina. Recent Rome runner-up Madsion Keys is seeded to meet the German in the fourth round.
In the bottom half, No.2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska will get underway against Bojana Jovanovski. Traditionally Radwanska has struggled to make an impression on the terre battue, reaching one quarterfinal from her nine visits, and her hopes of adding to this tally have not been helped by the draw.
Like Williams, the Pole finds herself in a tricky quarter. Awaiting her in the second round could be the mercurial Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia, before a likely third-round meeting with Rome quarterfinalist Barbora Strycova.
Should she negotiate the treacherous path to the last 16, former finalist Sara Errani or Sloane Stephens could lie in wait. The last two finalists, Lucie Safarova and Simona Halep, are the next highest seeds in Radwanska’s section.
No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza opens up against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, while 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ekaterina Makarova are likely to pose the biggest threat to her making it beyond the first week. Also in this quarter are Roberta Vinci, Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova.
Click here to see the full draw.
Petra Kvitova survives: When Sunday’s schedule first came out, my eyes immediately zoomed in on the first match on Court Philippe Chatrier: Petra Kvitova vs. Danka Kovinic. The first thought that came to mind was whether it could possibly be that the two-time Wimbledon champion might bow out of the French Open before the tournament actually felt like it was underway. The threat seemed real given Kvitova’s struggles with an abdominal injury before the tournament and the very heavy conditions that would be in play on Sunday.
Kvitova looked to put those concerns to bed after building a quick 6-2, 3-0 lead over Kovinic, who had a solid clay season. The Montenegrin reached the final of the Instanbul Cup a few weeks before and can be a dangerous player when her game is clicking. It clicked in just in time.
The big-hitting Czech wobbled in the second set and Kovinic pounced, playing some fantastic counter-punching tennis to take the match into a third set. For much of the final frame she looked like the better player, as she combatted Kvitova’s heavy strokes with some magical defense of her own.
Kovinic served for the match at 5-4 only to get broken on a tremendous game from the Czech, who reeled off the final three games to win. The win underlined one oft-overlooked aspect of Kvitova’s game: She’s a fighter. Her game may desert her at times but she’s there until the end. She’ll play Hsieh Su-wei in the second round.
Let's just say I'm glad that one is behind me 🙂 and sorry for your blood pressure ? #petrainparis pic.twitter.com/ndkSGR7ckE
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) May 22, 2016
Rain cancels eight matches, suspends three: The rain came later than expected in Paris, leading to a three-hour rain delay and early end to the day after a short resumption.
Just hit double digits for the amount of people in the players lounge who've mentioned the British weather to me. #notfunny #RG16
— Laura Robson (@laurarobson5) May 22, 2016
Five matches were able to finish before the rain came. In addition to Kvitova, No.11 seed Lucie Safarova, No.24 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Swiss qualifier Viktorija Golubic, and Hsieh Su-Wei advanced to the second round.
The following matches were in progress when play was called:
Svetlana Kuznetsova leads Yaroslava Schvedova 4-6, 6-1, 3-1.
Nicole Gibbs leads Heather Watson 7-5, 2-6, 2-1.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich leads Cagla Buyukakcay 7-5, 6-7(2), 2-1.
Cancelled matches, which included Garbiñe Muguruza and Simona Halep’s openers, as well as in-progress matches will take place on Monday.
Simo's match has been cancelled for today. See you tomorrow @rolandgarros ???? pic.twitter.com/whCMsXFaJB
— Darren Cahill (@darren_cahill) May 22, 2016
#RG16 almost started for me today.Will try again tomorrow?? @rolandgarros #rainyday
— Elena Vesnina (@EVesnina001) May 22, 2016
Golubic earns her first win at a Slam: The 23-year-old from Zurich made her Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open in January and earned her first main draw win at a major on Sunday, beating Alison Riske 6-1, 1-6 6-2. She’ll play Safarova in the round. Ranked No.130, Golubic earned wins over Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Strycova in the Fed Cup semifinals last month. That’s a nice run of form.
Cagla Buyukackay looks to make more history: By qualifying for the main draw, the Istanbul Cup champion became the first Turkish woman in the Open Era to play in the singles main draw at a Slam. In fact, there are two Turkish women in Paris, as she was later joined by 2014 US Open junior champion Ipek Soylu hours later.
With her match against Sasnovich suspended, Buyukackay will continue her quest to become the first Turkish woman to win a main draw match at a Slam on Monday.
Serena Williams and Venus Williams unseeded and looming: The doubles draw is out and all eyes were on where Serena and Venus would land. They’ve been drawn into the section of the draw led by No.2 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova and will open against the fiery young pairing of Jelena Ostapenko and Yulia Putintseva.
Radwanska, Muguruza, and Halep headline Day 2: Serena Williams was originally scheduled to play on Monday but the rain-delays on Sunday meant a reshuffling of the schedule. Radwanska starts her tournament against Bojana Jovanovski on Court Philippe Chatrier, Muguruza plays Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on Court Suzanne Lenglen, and Halep takes on Nao Hibino on Court 2.
Full order of play here.
Roland Garros Preview: Listen to the new episode of the WTA Insider Podcast for a full breakdown of what to expect over the fortnight in Paris and hear from the top players themselves as they discuss their expectations and preparations for the second major of the season.
WTA World No.1 Serena Williams came in at No.5 on Sports Illustrated’s Fittest 50, a list of athletes across all sports disciplines that an expert panel named as the fittest in the world.
The 21-time Grand Slam champion’s overall fitness was evaluated and her unmatched strength, power, agility and quickness stood out to SI’s experts, as well as her longevity: at 34 years old Williams now owns 70 career titles and doesn’t look ready to slow down any time soon.
To come up with the Fittest 50, the editors of SI worked with a panel of trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, performance experts, pro athlete coaches and more. Athletes were assessed based on characteristics that define fitness and conditioning: strength, speed, endurance, agility, flexibility and skill in their respective sports.
No.22-ranked Sloane Stephens also joined Williams on the list at No.38, and it’s no surprise why with three WTA titles under her belt this year already. The American’s fitness routines are well-documented on her social media: she typically does a morning workout in the gym followed by a couple of hours of work on the tennis courts.
SI’s experts highlighted her gym routines, which include battle ropes, Bosu balls and pull-ups.
Visit Sports Illustrated’s Fittest 50 for a complete list of the world’s fittest athletes in all of sports.
CoCo Vandeweghe discusses the importance of listening to different voices – from parents to various coaches – throughout her career during a press conference at the Australian Open.
Irina-Camelia Begu survives an epic: The Romanian, seeded No.25 in Paris, held off a barrage of power from CoCo Vandeweghe to win 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 10-8 in 3 hours and 38 minutes, the longest WTA match of the season so far. Vandeweghe served for the match at 5-4 in the third but Begu broke back and eventually worked her way to the win. It will be a tough loss for the American to swallow. Begu plays Annika Beck for a spot in the Round of 16.
Read more about Begu’s journey back from injury and how professional tennis runs in her family here.
Victoria Azarenka’s frustrating clay season: The World No.5 had all the momentum in the world heading into the clay season, but her mind and body just would not cooperate. On Tuesday, Azarenka retired down 4-0 in the final set to Italy’s Karin Knapp, a player who is well familiar with physical fragility herself.
After losing just one match on hard courts in the first three months of the season and winning three titles – including the first two Premier Mandatory events of the year at Indian Wells and Miami – Azarenka’s clay season was one to forget. She won just two tour matches on red clay and failed to notch a win over anyone ranked inside the Top 40. The back injury she sustained at the Mutua Madrid Open seemed to have healed up in Paris, but against Knapp she appeared to suffer a right knee injury that eventually led to her retirement.
Azarenka did not speak to reporters after the match.
Francesca Schiavone clarifies retirement rumors: No, Francesca ain’t done yet. Schiavone received a hero’s ovation after losing in straight sets to Kristina Mladenovic in the first round, but clarified after the match that, despite an announcement by Roland Garros, she had not retired.
“You can stand up all of you & go back to work b/c I didn’t say that. I will announce when I want to stop.” pic.twitter.com/G0ppQpTxC9
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) May 24, 2016
Roland Garros, always a pleasure. See you all in @Wimbledon.
— Francesca Schiavone (@Schiavone_Fra) May 24, 2016
Timea Bacsinszky’s tasty tales: What is it like to cover the first week of a Slam? It involves a lot of stairs, battery checks on your recorders, and cold sandwiches, often eaten at your desk as you monitor results. So this was a particularly painful read:
Reads @TimeaOfficial’s press conference, looks at sad desk sandwich, cries. #RG16 pic.twitter.com/blw6sZxIvh
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) May 24, 2016
Kristina Mladenovic mixes it up: Mladenovic confirmed to reporters that she will play mixed doubles with Pierre Hugues Herbert at the Olympics.
Garbiñe Muguruza and Petra Kvitova bouce back: After getting pushed to three sets in the first round against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, the No.4 seed rolled to a 6-2, 6-0 win over French wildcard Myrtille Georges. Kvitova was two points away from a first round exit as well against Danka Kovinic. She rolled past Hsieh Su-Wei 6-4, 6-1 on Wednesday to move through to the third round.
Shhhhh…Agnieszka Radwanska looking comfortable: The No.2 seed has not dropped a set through two rounds, with wins over Bojana Jovanovski and a tough Caroline Garcia. “I’m healthy, in one piece, and I’m just ready for the next one,” Radwanska said afterwards.
Read why I tentatively picked Radwanska as a darkhorse for a deep run. Pressure and expectation free, this might be the year she puts it together on clay. Or not. We’ll see.
Can Samantha Stosur snap her Safarova streak?: Stosur is into the third round and will face a familiar foe in last year’s Roland Garros finalist Lucie Safarova. The Czech is 11-3 against Stosur. It’s Stosur’s worst head-to-head record behind her 15-2 mark against Maria Sharapova.
Naomi Osaka streaks through a Slam once again: The 18-year-old is into the third round of her Roland Garros debut, this time beating an in-form Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-3, 6-3 to set up a big test against No.6 seed Simona Halep.
Here’s a fun exchange between Osaka and a reporter about her desire to play Serena Williams.
Q. Speaking of Serena, you always wanted to play her. In Australia you looked a little bit disappointed to find out that you don’t have an opportunity to play against Serena until like a semifinals or something. I was wondering this year when the draw came out, did you watch where Serena is and did you find that opportunity to play against Serena?
NAOMI OSAKA: Well, she’s all the way on the other side of the draw. Like she’s always at the very top. Then I saw my name wasn’t there, and I was like, ah. I got over it kind of quickly. Was that it?
Q. What was your reaction when you found that you don’t have an opportunity to play her until the final?
NAOMI OSAKA: Disappointment? But then I’m like, okay, so maybe I have a chance to win my rounds then.
Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova are out…of singles: The doubles partners took surprising second round losses on Wednesday, with Vesnina bowing out to Shelby Rogers and No.27 seed Makarova losing to Yanina Wickmayer in three sets.
The pressure of playing at home: Caroline Garcia will walk away from the clay season with a big win on home soil. It just won’t be here in Paris. The Strasbourg champion couldn’t find her best when it mattered against the crafty Radwanska, but the atmosphere and the effort she put in was very positive.
“I enjoyed the court,” Garcia said. “I enjoyed Lenglen. I enjoyed the public. I’m disappointed. I can play better. But it was a wonderful moment. It was very emotional. The public supporting me helped me coming back in the match when I thought it was over.
“I think they believed more in me than I believed in myself.”
Day 5 Matches to Watch: Timea Bacsinszky vs. Eugenie Bouchard, Venus Williams vs. Louisa Chirico, Madison Keys vs. Mariana Duque-Mariño, Camila Giorgi vs. Kiki Bertens, Andrea Petkovic vs. Yulia Putintseva, Kristina Mladenovic vs. Timea Babos.
Olympic teams shape up: A quick look at the Olympic race:
– Germany: With Annika Beck’s run to the third round, the top four Germans on the Monday after the French Open will be Angelique Kerber, Andrea Petkovic, Laura Siegemund, and Beck. That’s not to say that’s the confirmed team: all players are still subject to Federation and Fed Cup requirements.
– Russia: The Vesnina and Makarova’s losses mean the Russian Olympic team is nearly set, with Svetlana Kuznetsova, Maria Sharapova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and Daria Kasatkina the top four singles players. If Sharapova is unable to play in Rio, that fourth spot will go to Makarova.
– United States: CoCo Vandeweghe needed to make the final to overtake Sloane Stephens or Madison Keys for the fourth Olympic spot. While Louisa Chirico is still mathematically in the hunt, it’s looking like the US will send Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Madison Keys, and Sloane Stephens in singles.
– Three bubble players to watch: Even one more win could mean the difference between Rio and summer vacation for Alizé Cornet, Zhang Shuai, and Wang Qiang.
Photos courtesy of Getty Images.
Top seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sania Mirza eased into the last eight of the Australian Open mixed doubles event with Mike Bryan and Ivan Dodig, respectively.
Kristina Mladenovic takes on Francesca Schiavone in the first round of Roland Garros.