Vandeweghe Olympic Blog: Episode 2
CoCo Vandeweghe shows off her impressive Olympic pin collection and gives a sneak peek into the Village dining hall in episode 2 of CoCo’s Olympic Video Blog.
CoCo Vandeweghe shows off her impressive Olympic pin collection and gives a sneak peek into the Village dining hall in episode 2 of CoCo’s Olympic Video Blog.
The stage is set in Strasbourg as the French headline their first Fed Cup final since 2005, when Amélie Mauresmo narrowly missed out on a hat trick of titles to team Russia. Mauresmo is back at the helm over a decade later, captaining a next generation squad that includes Roland Garros doubles winners Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic.
“I’m lucky it brings out their best tennis,” the 2016 International Tennis Hall of Fame Inductee told WTA Insider in July. “They feel so good playing on the team, and are able to express their best during this competition, I’m very fortunate with that. It’s not only Caroline and Kiki, but also Alizé Cornet and Pauline Parmentier; I hope they can all rise to the occasion in November.”
That occasion puts them head-to-head against defending champions in the Czech Republic, who have taken home the trophy in four of the last five years and took out the French in last April’s semifinal.
“We have a very difficult team ahead of us. There’s nothing to lose, being the underdogs. We’ll give it a good fight.”
Garcia will be ready for a good fight against the likes of Karolina Pliskova and Petra Kvitova. The French No.1 won in Strasbourg earlier in the season, taking home the first of two titles in 2016.
“I’m really looking forward to it, but I’d rather be facing a team other than the Czechs!” she joked at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. “They have so many great players, that they could even make two teams from all the players they have in the Top 50.
“But we’ve done well this year; not long ago, we were almost out of World Group, and we were fighting just to stay in World Group II. Everything’s come very fast for us. We are a very young team, and have nothing to lose; we will be in France, and we will give everything we have like we always do.”
Mladenovic echoed her partner’s sentiments after winning the Mutua Madrid Open doubles crown.
“We are all aware how tough it is to give all of yourself in Fed Cup every single year. Personally, I give a lot. You try to do your best, find a balance, and just be positive, work hard and keep going.”
She and Garcia duo rode a 15-match winning streak through the start of the clay court season, ultimately becoming the first all-French duo to triumph on the terre battue since 1971. Mauresmo took over coaching duties back in 2012, and admitted a need to adapt her strategies to a new set of national stars.
“It’s another learning experience for me, how to adjust to people, how to adjust to different personalities, different structures as well. They don’t operate the same way I did at all. You have to find different words, and it’s a challenge each time. But I love it. I love to adjust, listen to people, and decide from there what is the best course of action.”
Born in the same city as the two-time Grand Slam champion, Garcia earned the Fed Cup Heart Award following a heroic effort in the semifinals, where she and Mladenovic won a decisive doubles rubber to advance into the championship tie.
“I think it’s been a great opportunity to work with her. She really likes this competition. She gives a lot of herself, a lot of energy on the court. She’s had a lot of experience from her career in Fed Cup. She was No.1, won Grand Slams.
“She knows how tennis works, obviously. She trusts us and us on the court, that we can give everything. She wants us to win this Fed Cup; it was one of our goals, and now we’re so close!”
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil – No.3 seed Monica Puig powered into the Brasil Tennis Cup semifinals after a commanding win over 18-year-old Naomi Osaka, 6-3, 6-4.
Watch live action from Florianopolis this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Osaka came out swinging from the first point, displaying all the signs of her giant-killing form that has seen her reaching the third round at back to back Grand Slams this year.
“She started off very strong,” Puig said. “I just tried to keep myself there in the match the whole time. I served really well and played well on the long points, too.”
Osaka opened the match by breaking Puig’s serve, but the Puerto Rican has been in strong form all week long and was able to grab the break right back. Puig broke once more for a 3-1 lead, which she backed up with her strong service games to take the opening set. She earned another break in the first game of the second, and closed out the match after an hour and fifteen minutes.
After the match, the Puerto Rican had nothing but praise for her young opponent.
“Obviously, Osaka is super young, and I think she has an incredible potential,” Puig said after the match. “She’s a player who has many strong weapons and a great game. Of course, she’s only 18 years old, so you need to give her more time, because if she stays playing like this she’ll go very, very far.”
Puig is set to face the No.2 seeded Irina-Camelia Begu for a spot in the Brasil Tennis Cup final. The Romanian came through against No.7 seed Nao Hibino 6-2, 6-4.
“I played with Puig earlier this year in Charleston,” Begu said. “That was a really tough match, really close third set. I know it’s going to be a difficult match, but it’s the semifinals of a WTA event – I’m expecting that.”
Begu is one of two Romanians into the semifinals along with Ana Bogdan, who’s set to compete against the No.6 seed Timea Babos in the next round. Much like Puig expressed yesterday, Begu has her own reasons for feeling right at home in Florianopolis.
“Romanians are Latin, so we are very similar,” she said. “We feel good here in Brazil, we feel like home and that’s probably why we play so good here.”
Semis baby! ?? #UnoAUno pic.twitter.com/CiRAdEBoWZ
— Monica Puig (@MonicaAce93) August 3, 2016
It’s time to crown the 2016 WTA Shot Of The Year!
Each WTA Shot Of The Month winner has been placed into one of two groups:
• Voting for Group A and Group B will close Sunday, November 20 at 11:59pm ET
• The two shots from each group that receive the most votes will then be placed into a final group
• Final Group voting opens Monday, November 21 and ends Monday, November 28 at 11:59pm ET
• The 2016 WTA Shot of the Year winner will be announced Tuesday, November 29
Group B
June: Agnieszka Radwanska
July: Simona Halep
August: Agnieszka Radwanska
September: Kirsten Flipkens
October: Angelique Kerber
RIO DE JANIERO, Brazil – Friday saw the curtain raised on the XXXI Olympiad with a colorful opening ceremony at the magnificent Maracana stadium.
Broadcast to an audience of over three billion, it celebrated Brazil’s culture, history and nature, before former marathon runner Vanderlei de Lima lit the Olympic cauldron. The WTA was well represented on the night, with Caroline Wozniacki carrying in the flag for Denmark.
But what were Wozniacki and company up to before, during and after the show?
Tennis flag bearers!! ???? #Olympics #rio @RafaelNadal pic.twitter.com/H0g1qe7aG6
— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) August 6, 2016
Almost time to walk ?????????? pic.twitter.com/t5W89w7gVW
— Heather Watson (@HeatherWatson92) 5 August 2016
WOW! What a rush!!! Let's go @TeamUSA @serenawilliams @CoCoVandey @Madison_Keys @SloaneStephens #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/hz3YQ81udg
— Bethanie MattekSands (@BMATTEK) August 6, 2016
Tonight was a night to remember! Officially an olympian! ?? pic.twitter.com/y8izZiRLg5
— Monica Puig (@MonicaAce93) August 6, 2016
What a feeling to be part of this evening,so grateful and humble for being here #czechteam #OpeningCeremony #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/UCX0JBRZle
— Andrea Hlavackova (@AndreaHlavackov) August 6, 2016
Some of the best snaps from the #OpeningCeremony at #Rio2016!
?–> https://t.co/ok9z42ySeS #Olympics pic.twitter.com/4xoKIvQIUY
— WTA (@WTA) August 6, 2016
However, with many in the singles and doubles draws beginning their tournament the following morning, not everyone could enjoy the festivities…
When you're not at the #OpeningCeremony ???? #swissteam #Rio2016 ??? pic.twitter.com/dfSu4hj5AO
— Timea Bacsinszky (@TimeaOfficial) August 5, 2016
Océane Dodin continued her fine late season form with a hard-fought win over Alexandra Cadantu in the first round of the Engie Open de Limoges.
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – Dominika Cibulkova took the court for the first time since capturing the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global to play the Tennis Championships Slovakia, a one night exhibition event featuring fellow WTA star Belinda Bencic, Yannick Noah, Dominik Hrbaty, Radek Stepanek, and Monsour Barami.
Cibulkova and Bencic met the press and participated in a kid’s clinic sponsored by Tennis Arena before the main event began. The WTA Finals champion even got to sit on a throne to commemorate a career-best season, one that saw her reach a career-high ranking of No.5 and win a tour-leading four WTA titles.
Check out the best tweets from the night:
.@Cibulkova @BelindaBencic at press conference of @tennischampSVK. Beautiful ladies,aren't they? 😉 by @milanhutera https://t.co/j3foDTSSdq pic.twitter.com/c9SX2DsUF4
— TennisArena (@tennis_arena) November 14, 2016
The girls from the @tennis_arena Kids Tour Serie ? @tennischampSVK exhibition is here!#tennisarenakidstour #tennischampions #tennis #kids pic.twitter.com/0qALF8Krob
— Dominika Cibulkova (@Cibulkova) November 15, 2016
#WTA Champion Domi Cibulkova crowned Queen during yesterday's Tennis Champions exhibition in #Bratislava. Photos: https://t.co/LS8OZUILPE pic.twitter.com/paDSmzNvhx
— Milan Hutera (@milanhutera) November 16, 2016
World No.1 Serena Williams has taken a wildcard into next week’s Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, a Premier 5 event.
The two-time defending champion has a 10-match win streak in Cincinnati and will be making her eighth appearance at the tournament where she holds a 21-4 match record. Serena enters the event looking to rebound from a disappointing early exit from the Olympics in Rio, where she lost in the third round to Elina Svitolina.
Having played only three matches since winning Wimbledon in July, Serena will look to return to form as she continues to prepare for the US Open, where she has a chance to break the Open Era record for Slam singles titles by winning her 23rd major.
Also on the line for Serena next week: The No.1 ranking.
Current World No.2 Angelique Kerber has a chance to end Serena’s 183-week reign at No.1 at Cincinnati, however, it will not be an easy task. Kerber, who is still in Rio de Janiero at the Olympic tennis event, would need to win the title at the Western & Southern Open in order to do so.
With Serena accepting the wildcard, she can extend her stay at No.1 through US Open if she makes the quarterfinals, regardless what Kerber does.
Kerber is trying to become the first German to reach No.1 since her idol Stefanie Graf and would be the third left-handed player to hold the No.1 ranking (along with Martina Navratilova and Monica Seles).
Main draw play at the Western & Southern Open begins on Monday, with the top 16 seeds receiving a bye into the second round. The draw ceremony will be held on Friday, August 12, at 5:30pm local time.
SHE'S BACK.
2-time defending champ @serenawilliams returns to #CincyTennis after receiving a WC into the main draw. pic.twitter.com/1rNIEvHaok
— W&S Open (@CincyTennis) August 11, 2016
KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier 5
Prize Money: $2,804,000
Draw Size: 48 main draw (16 byes)/48 qualifying
Main Draw Ceremony: Friday, August 12, 5.30pm EDT
Qualifying Dates: Saturday, August 13 – Sunday, August 14
First Day of Main Draw: Monday, August 15
Singles Final: Sunday, August 21, 2pm EDT
Doubles Final: TBC – Sunday, August 21, 12.15pm EDT on Grandstand
MUST FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@CinyTennis – official tournament handle
Get involved in conversations with the official hashtags, #CincyTennis and #WTA.
TOURNAMENT NOTES:
· Serena Williams bids to win a third straight Cincinnati title after accepting a late wildcard. She is the only player in the Open Era to win multiple times at the event.
· Since the tournament’s return to the tour in 2004, there have been 11 different winners of the tournament, although Serena is the only returning champion in the field this year. There are a couple of former runner-ups – Simona Halep (2015), Ana Ivanovic (2014) and Angelique Kerber (2012).
· The WTA’s current Top 5-ranked players are all in attendance: Serena, Kerber, Halep, Garbiñe Muguruza and Agnieszka Radwanska.
· Halep arrives on a 10-match winning streak, having won her past two tournaments, in Bucharest and Montréal.
· Lucie Safarova and Andrea Petkovic could both register their 400th career win by reaching the second round and quarterfinals, respectively.
· For the full draw click here.
WILDCARDS:
Serena Williams (USA), Christina McHale (USA), Louisa Chirico (SVK)
WITHDRAWALS:
Sloane Stephens (right foot), Jelena Jankovic (right shoulder)