Birmingham: Shot Of The Day (Wednesday)
Agnieszka Radwanska had Wednesday’s shot of the day at the Aegon Classic.
Agnieszka Radwanska had Wednesday’s shot of the day at the Aegon Classic.
MONTERREY, Mexico – Angelique Kerber cut the ribbon as the Abierto GNP Seguros officially unveiled its brand-new stadium court: Estadio GNP Seguros.
The World No.1 was one of the guests of honour as the crowds were treated to a real show in Monterrey – culminating in a stunning fireworks display.
Kerber opened her campaign on court by beating Francesca Schiavone in three sets, 4-6, 6-0, 6-4.
– All photos courtesy of Abierto GNP Seguros
For the first time since 2004, Venus Williams will hit the US hard courts to prepare for the Olympic games. That preparation will begin at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, which begins one week after Wimbledon. It will be Venus’ third appearance in Stanford in the last decade.
“The Olympics is such a highlight, but at the same time it’s important to play tournaments so you can continue with success on the tour,” Venus told reporters via a conference call on Wednesday. “Also for me it’s making sure I have a little bit of a break. This year I’ve been very successful. I will be starting out with Bank of the West, then playing one more event, then heading off to Rio is my plan.” Venus is also entered in the Rogers Cup in Montreal.
The Olympics are set to take place from August 6-14, between the Rogers Cup and Western & Southern Open. In the last two Olympic cycles Venus has gone into the Olympics with no tournament play after Wimbledon but she sought a change this year.
“Being at home, being able to just play in the US, and there’s not as many opportunities as there was when I first started to play in the US, so it’s become really special at this point,” Venus said. “It really becomes the last opportunity to do so until March. I really cherish that.”
Venus’ history with Stanford goes way back. A two-time champion, Venus played her first pro tournament in 1994, when the event was held across the Bay in Oakland. As an unseeded 14-year-old she won her first WTA match, beating No.58 Shaun Stafford, and took a set off top seed Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario before losing, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0. Over the years she has made the final seven times, winning in 2000 and 2002. The only tournament at which she’s made more finals? Wimbledon.
“I love hardcourts,” Venus said. “A lot of people think my favorite surface is grass, but actually I grew up on hardcourts, so I prefer that. I feel right at home on it.”
As Venus readies for her fifth Olympics — she’s qualified for both singles and doubles with sister Serena – she’s already embracing the Olympic experience. No one loves the Olympics more than Venus. The four-time Olympic gold medalist has already debuted her red, white, and blue dress for the games, designed by her clothing label EleVen.
“My dress at the Olympics is always inspired by Wonder Woman,” Venus said. “Each and every Olympics it’s Wonder Woman as the inspiration. It never changes. I’ll probably do a special Olympic hair, though. Maybe I’ll come back with colored hair. I haven’t done that in a while.”
One of the activities both Venus and Serena have made an enduring commitment to at the Olympics: Pin trading. Venus has says she’ll pull out her massive pin collection every once in a while to relive past games, but collecting pins isn’t necessarily about the pins.
“Once you start trading pins, you find out it’s about meeting people,” Venus said. “That experience of meeting somebody you’ll maybe never see again, but the connection you have with them, the joy you have from meeting them, that is the best part of it all. It’s an interesting byproduct that you don’t expect. Then you have your pins for memories when you look back to remember those times at the Olympics. That’s awesome as well.”
The Bank of the West Classic will kick off its 46th year on July 18th. Along with Venus, Agnieszka Radwanska, Dominika Cibulkova, CoCo Vandeweghe, and Nicole Gibbs have also entered the event.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
BIRMINGHAM, England – Jelena Ostapenko defeated Petra Kvitova for the second time this season after prevailing in a topsy-turvy second-round encounter at the Aegon Classic Birmingham.
Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Two years ago, Ostapenko was crowned Wimbledon junior champion and this affinity with grass was clear to see as she defused Kvitova, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
“Since juniors, I think I did well on grass. It’s my first time here, but I really like it here,” Ostapenko said. “I think grass is my favorite surface, so I’m looking forward to two more tournaments. I think I can do well on grass because I have good serve and good backhand and forehand, so for grass, I think it’s good.”
There was little in the way of break opportunities until the seventh game, when Ostapenko fended off the first threat. The next game she was presented with a chance of her own when the No.5 seed sent a forehand long. She converted with a stroke of good fortune, her backhand return crashing into the tape before dropping onto Kvitova’s side of the net.
Kvitova responded by moving 3-0 ahead in the second set, only to be halted first by her opponent, who broke back in the fifth game, and then the rain. On the resumption it appeared that Ostapenko’s moment had passed, Kvitova wrapping up the set then breaking to love at the start of the decider.
Earlier this year, Ostapenko fought back to defeat Kvitova en route to the Doha final, and she showed similar gumption to repeat the feat. A couple of pin-point returns helped wipe out the early deficit, Ostapenko then outmaneuvering Kvitova on the baseline to hit the front a short while later. There was still time for a late wobble, Kvitova carving out a couple of break points at 5-3, but the teenager held firm to close out victory.
Ostapenko’s run this week increases the likelihood of a Wimbledon seeding, and following this victory over a two-time champion expectation levels heading into the year’s third major will soar. “I mean, I think on grass, she’s one of the most dangerous opponents because she won twice Wimbledon. I’m happy to win today.”
The Latvian, who also beat Kvitova in Doha earlier this year, will now face Madison Keys. In another of the early matches, Keys swiftly dealt with qualifier Tamira Paszek, 6-1, 6-3, to keep her hopes of reaching the Top 10 alive.
To do so she will need to reach the final, although her post-match press conference was dominated by other concerns. “I feel like I’m up against the rain this week. Really happy that we were able to get on the court today,” Keys said. “Once I was out there, I was definitely really focused on getting on, playing as efficiently as possible, and hopefully finishing before the rain starts again.”
BIRMINGHAM, England – Defending champion Angelique Kerber battled back to defeat Daria Gavrilova and book a belated place in the quarterfinals of the Aegon Classic Birmingham.
Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
The match was one of the many to fall victim to Thursday’s biblical thunderstorms, Gavrilova leading 6-5 when the heavens opened. Kerber made a disastrous start to the restart, losing her serve and with it the set. However, as the match wore on the German began to find her rhythm and in the end ran out a comfortable 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 winner.
“It’s good to turn around the match after the rain delay, but it’s always tough to play against her so I’m really happy I played my game from the first point and found my rhythm again and won the match after losing the first set,” Kerber said.
“It was a new day, a new match, trying to just play aggressive tennis and get used to the grass. It was a good preparation for Wimbledon.”
Happy #FistpumpFriday for @AngeliqueKerber as she continues her #AegonClassic defence with a win! pic.twitter.com/5XugiWSbxG
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) June 17, 2016
Kerber did not take long to get over the disappointment of losing the opening set, outmaneuvering her young opponent to manufacture a couple of break points in the opening game of the second. Only one was required, and with the German now in her groove Gavrilova never looked like wresting back the initiative.
While Kerber’s unforced error count was as miserly as ever – she committed 21 in the match – Gavrilova struggled in vain for consistency. There was no masking the Australian’s frustration as she dropped the second then slipped 5-1 behind in the decider, Kerber closing out the contest in style, crouching down to uncork her 27th winner of the match.
It will be a busy day for Kerber, who will return later to take on Carla Suárez Navarro in the last eight. Suárez Navarro booked her place with a rollercoaster win over Andrea Petkovic, frittering away a 5-2 final set lead before recomposing herself to complete a 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) victory.
There was disappointment for the home nation, as Heather Watson and Johanna Konta both slipped to defeat. British No.1 Konta made a bright start, breaking in the opening game but was up against it from then on as an impressive Yanina Wickmayer eased to a 6-3, 6-3 win. Watson lost to former finalist Barbora Strycova, 7-5, 6-4.
Madison Keys has powered her way into the Aegon Classic Birmingham final behind a strong serve that is more dangerous on grass. SAP Tennis Analytics for Coaches shows how playing on grass benefits the Keys service game.
In 14 clay court matches this season, Keys hit a total of 53 aces. This week in Birmingham, she’s already hit 33 aces in just four matches. That’s an average 8.2 per match compared to 3.9 per match for the season coming into this week.
Saturday’s semifinal win, which will propel Keys into the Top 10 for the first time in her career, was a good example of how Keys can use her serve to take control of a match.
Keys fell behind in her semifinal against Carla Suárez Navarro, losing the first set 3-6 while winning just 64% of her service points.
In the second set, the Keys serve was dominant. She won 91% of her service points, 20 of 22. The SAP Coaches View shows that Keys was particularly effective serving to the ad court, getting all 10 of her first serves in, and hitting all three of her aces in the set to that side.
Keys won that second set 6-3, then prevailed in the third set tie-break as she won 76% of her service points in the final set.
Grass courts have been better for the Keys serve historically. In the last two years, Keys has won 66% of her service points on the surface, compared to her overall average of just 61% in those two seasons.
The SAP Coaches View combines scoring information direct from the chair umpire with tracking data from HawkEye to allow for an in depth look at five different aspects of a match. Each tracking option can be filtered to narrow the focus to specific situations within a match, such as break points. This information is available directly to coaches in real-time during a match on their SAP tablet and also available to them online after matches.
“Service” tracking shows the landing point for all serves. The display differentiates between first serves, second serves and aces. Additional data on the screen shows the percentage of overall service points won as well as looking specifically at first and second serves.
These serving statistics will be continue to be key for Keys as she looks to ace her test in Sunday’s final against Barbora Strycova.
Aegon Classic Birmingham, Ann Jones Centre Court, 1.30pm
Watch live action from Sunday’s Birmingham final on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
[7] Madison Keys (USA #16) vs. Barbora Strycova (CZE #30)
Head-to-head: Keys leads 2-1
Final Fact: Keys has served 33 aces in her four matches in Birmingham, compared with the 53 she hit in the entire clay court season (14 matches).
In her post-match press conference following an impressive semifinal win over the in-form CoCo Vandeweghe, Barbora Strycova was typically forthcoming about the challenge awaiting her in the final.
Madison Keys is the opponent. And a familiar one at that; the pair met twice during the clay court season, Keys prevailing first in Madrid, then again in a far tighter encounter in Rome.
“I go into that match to, I don’t want to say with nothing to lose, but it’s a final. It can change many things. It’s on grass and I like to play on grass. It’s going to be a totally different match,” Strycova said. “The last match in Rome was really tough one. I lost 6-3 in the third.
“But she’s a great player. I have to bring some good tennis.”
Keys took the latest step on her path to greatness on Saturday, confirming her ascension to the Top 10 by overcoming a rocky start to defeat Carla Suárez Navarro. It was not her only moment of anxiety en route to the final either; in the previous round she trailed by a set and a break to Jelena Ostapenko.
A devastating serve, thudding groundstrokes off either wing and the desire to move up the court at any opportunity make the American’s game ideally suited to grass – her only previous title came on the surface, two years ago in Eastbourne.
Unsurprisingly, she is not backwards in coming forwards on her love of the lawns: “This is the only surface that I have a title on. Obviously, it’s one of my favorites. It definitely suits my game. I feel pretty comfortable playing on it. Hopefully, I can win a couple more tournaments on this. I would love to do well at Wimbledon whenever I can.
“I’m not going to sit here and say I’m going to win Wimbledon, but obviously, I’d really like to!”
While Keys has stuttered at time in the past two rounds, Strycova has dropped just one set all week. However, the at time biblical rain England’s second city has been subjected to this week has ensured her path to the finals – alongside Karolina Pliskova she is also still in the hunt for the doubles title – has been far from straightforward. Indeed, over the past two days she has played five matches, spending a fraction under seven hours on court.
Road To The Final
Madison Keys
First Round: d. Timea Babos, 76(3) 64 (1:27)
Second Round: d. [Q] Tamira Paszek, 61 63 (0:58)
Quarterfinals: d. Jelena Ostapenko, 67(1) 64 62 (1:59)
Semifinals: d. [6] Carla Suárez Navarro, 36 63 76(3) (1:42)
Barbora Strycova
First Round: d. [8] Karolina Pliskova, 64 76(7) (2:02)
Second Round: d. Heather Watson, 75 64 (1:40)
Quarterfinals: d. Tsvetana Pironkova, 62 75 (1:35)
Semifinals: d. CoCo Vandeweghe, 26 64 63 (2:10)
BIRMINGHAM, Great Britain – Already assured of becoming the first American to debut in the Top 10 since Serena Williams in April 1999 by reaching the Aegon Classic final, Madison Keys went one better in Birmingham, defeating tour veteran Barbora Strycova, 6-3, 6-4, to win her second WTA title.
Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Keys had been made to work through a rainy week in Birmingham, winning a pair of thrilling three-setters against Jelena Ostapenko and Carla Suárez Navarro just to clinch her Top 10 debut. Strycova, by contrast, had dropped just one set en route to her second final of what has been a career-best season for the Czech, who is also set to play the doubles final alongside countrywoman Karolina Pliskova against Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva.
But it was the 21 year old American who drew first blood on Sunday’s final, racing out to a 3-0 lead and never looking back in a decisive opening set.
“I think I got off to a good start in the first set breaking early,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I think I held onto the that lead pretty well. Then in the second set, she definitely raised her level.”
Strycova indeed kept it close in the second, engineering a break point in the eighth game that would have allowed her to serve for a decider, but Keys kept her cool and won the last three games on the bounce to win her first WTA title since 2014 – also on grass in Eastbourne.
“There was definitely a couple of games, especially when I was serving, that I really had to dig deep and figure it out. Luckily I was able to.”
A quarterfinalist at last year’s Wimbledon Championships, Keys played near-perfect grass court tennis during the 79 minute affair, hitting 27 winners to 16 unforced errors and winning 13 of 18 forays to the net.
“I’m feeling pretty good. I think getting this many matches in a row was a huge opportunity that I think that can definitely help me at Wimbledon.
“I obviously really love the surface, so the more I get to play on it, the happier I am.”
Not only did Madison Keys become the first American to debut in the WTA’s Top 10 since April 1999, but the Aegon Classic champion also dramatically improved her chances for a debut appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Moving up six spots from No.13, Keys moved into the Top 8 at No.7, just ahead of 2014 finalist Simona Halep. The Top 6 remained unchanged after a week of play in Birmingham and the inaugural Mallorca Open, with Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber, Victoria Azarenka, Garbiñe Muguruza, defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska, and Carla Suárez Navarro all retained their places on the Road to Singapore leaderboard.
Birmingham finalist Barbora Strycova also edged closer to the Top 8, moving up three spots to No.13. Caroline Garcia captured her first-ever title on grass and roared into the Top 16 from No.23.
The final Wimbledon preparations continue this week in Eastbourne, with Radwanska, Belinda Bencic, Timea Bacsinszky, and Petra Kvitova all in action.
RTS Ranking Movers
Madison Keys: No. 13 to No.7 (+6)
Caroline Garcia: No.23 to No.16 (+7)
Barbora Strycova: No.16 to No.13 (+3)
Jelena Ostapenko No.28 to No.26 (+2)
Click here to see the full Road To Singapore leaderboard standings following Birmingham.
Anett Kontaveit crushed a nervy Heather Watson in their first-round encounter at the Ladies Open Biel Bienne.