Cornet Trumpets Past Allertova
Alizé Cornet gritted out a tight victory over up-and-coming Denisa Allertova, while No.2 seed Camila Giorgi was made to battle against Zarina Diyas at the Hobart International.
Alizé Cornet gritted out a tight victory over up-and-coming Denisa Allertova, while No.2 seed Camila Giorgi was made to battle against Zarina Diyas at the Hobart International.
An interview with Kristina Kucova after her win in the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup.
DUBAI, UAE – No.7 seed Elina Svitolina took home her second title of 2017 – and the biggest one of her career – at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after defeating 2011 champion Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets.
Playing in her first Premier 5 final, Svitolina showed no sign of nerves as she outhit the former World No.1 to claim the victory 6-4, 6-2 after an hour and 10 minutes.
“It’s very special for me [to win such a big tournament],” Svitolina said in her on-court interview. “I’ve played very amazing tennis this week and I’m happy it happened in Dubai.
“It’s the first trophy for me at such a big tournament, so it’s very special for me.”
“I dreamed for all my life to be in the Top 10” -@ElinaSvitolina pic.twitter.com/T4CooJ6Nw3
— WTA (@WTA) February 25, 2017
With the title, Svitolina will rise from WTA No.13 to No.10, making her the 120th player to make her Top 10 debut since the WTA Rankings were introduced on November 3, 1975.
“I’ve dreamed for all my life to be in Top 10. It’s a very amazing feeling to enter Top 10, and do it by winning the tournament! I’m very excited for the season and very excited I could win this tournament.”
The 22-year-old Ukrainian entered the matchup against Wozniacki with a 1-0 lead in the pair’s head-to-head record, with their only meeting coming last year in Miami where Svitolina came within two points of defeat before winning 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(1).
This time in Dubai, it was a more comprehensive affair, with Svitolina injecting pace into her groundstrokes to break down Wozniacki’s rock-solid defense.
.@ElinaSvitolina captures @DDFTennis Title!
Defeats Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2! pic.twitter.com/TA3LibF8zn
— WTA (@WTA) February 25, 2017
A pair of inch-perfect passing shots left Wozniacki wrong-footed and gave Svitolina the lone break in the first set at 3-2. But the Dane refused to fade away, batting away a pair of Svitolina set points at 5-4 with some bold tennis – including a second-serve ace – to force the Ukrainian to serve it out.
Wozniacki let three break points slip by that would have leveled the score, and instead Svitolina held serve from 0-40 down to take the opening set.
Svitolina continued her momentum into the final set; after trading breaks to start, Svitolina played more aggressive to chip away at Wozniacki’s defense as the Dane’s unforced error count continued to build. Svitolina rattled off the last five games in a row to close out the match and biggest title of her career.
“It’s been a good two weeks, @DDFTennis is a special tournament for me.” -@CaroWozniacki pic.twitter.com/xVVyG0fmXK
— WTA (@WTA) February 25, 2017
Despite the disappointing loss, Wozniacki is taking away positive signs from her Middle East fortnight, which saw her reach back-to-back finals.
“It’s been a good two weeks for me – two finals, lots of matches,” Wozniacki said in her on-court interview. “Making another final here [in Dubai] is definitely great, and I’m already excited to be back.”
Another piece of good news for Wozniacki? The Dane is inching closer to her return to the WTA Top 10: with her run to the final she’ll move to No.14, and is defending just 145 points until the US Open.
During her title run at the Shenzhen Open, Agnieszka Radwanska took some time out to talk about the city, the fans and whether she’ll come back next year. So, will she?
The 2016 Rogers Cup field has been whittled down to the final four. Ahead of the semifinals wtatennis.com contributor Chris Oddo runs the rule over the remaining contenders.
The story of the tournament from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Highlights from first round action at the Apia International Sydney.
An interview with Madison Keys after her win in the semifinals of the Rogers Cup.
The Abierto Mexicano Telcel is one of the players’ favorite WTA tournaments, and it’s easy to see why at beach paradise Acapulco.
Eugenie Bouchard & Monica Puig took to the beach with ATP’s Marin Cilic for a quick snap on the tournament hashtag sign.
Christina McHale and ATP’s David Goffin were on hand at the draw ceremony and trophy presentation.
Meanwhile, Andrea Petkovic joined Feliciano Lopez for an unforgettable experience.
The pair took in a hair-raising cliff diving show at La Quebrada, where divers jump more than 35 meters into the water below.
Check out that stunning view!
Bouchard and ATP star Juan Martín del Potro took a helicopter to another scenic location.
They visited Pie de la Cuesta, a picturesque beach a few miles away from Acapulco.
Bouchard and del Potro played a bit of beach tennis…
Looks like fun!
But it didn’t go too well for Bouchard!
Kristina Mladenovic and Heather Watson took to the Princess Golf Course with Robert Farah and Juan Sebastián Cabal for a different challenge.
They played a few holes of futgolf, hybrid of a golf and football.
Check out Watson’s skill with the football!
Mladenovic, the No.2 seed in Acapulco, is definitely enjoying the outing.
Afterwards, the players challenged each other to a bit of keepy-uppy!
SYDNEY, Australia – Sara Errani looked on course for a three-setter during her second round encounter with Jelena Jankovic; the Italian managed to up her game at the right moment at the Apia International Sydney, saving a whopping seven set points to take out the former No.1, 7-6(3), 7-6(8), in two hours and 30 minutes.
The 2012 French Open finalist, Errani had eked out the opening set against an opponent she had beaten in three of their last four meetings. But Jankovic won their last match at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai and appeared poised to extend the match to a decider when the Serb raced out to a 5-1 lead.
“Yeah, it was 5-1, but I had many games with 40-Love, 40-15, and advantage, and so it didn’t really feel like 5-1,” Errani said.
“I was just thinking that I was near my best level, and to just try to keep going, play all the points, and finally was 5-All, and 5-5, 6-All, and really tough the tiebreaker.”
Undaunted, Errani saved her best tennis for when her back was against the wall, breaking the 2008 US Open runner-up twice in a row to level the set and overcome the loss of multiple match points to eventually earn the win in straight sets. Speaking to press after the match, Errani admitted that she was expecting a battle from the outset.
“It was very tough, physically. With her all of our matches is like this. We play always long matches, long points.”
Errani next plays the winner of the second round match between a pair of former Top 5 players, Sam Stosur and Daniela Hantuchova.