Indian Wells: Azarenka Interview
An interview with Victoria Azarenka after her win in the final of the BNP Paribas Open.
An interview with Victoria Azarenka after her win in the final of the BNP Paribas Open.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan – Nao Hibino stayed on course to defend her Tashkent Open title after Lesia Tsurenko retired from their quarterfinal on Thursday.
Watch live action this week from Tashkent and Wuhan on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Tsurenko arrived in Tashkent fresh from a run to the title in Guangzhou, and against Hibino this hectic schedule finally took its toll when a back injury brought her seven-match winning streak to a sudden end.
The anticlimactic conclusion to the contest was all the more disappointing given the competitive nature of the set they did play; after trading breaks, Hibino fended off two set points to take it 7-6(6). “I’m relieved after winning the first set. It was very close and I managed to hold on and fight in spite of being down,” Hibino said.
Standing between Hibino and another final in the Uzbekistani capital is World No.114 Denisa Allertova, a surprise 7-5, 6-4 winner over No.2 seed Kirsten Flipkens. Allertova produced the steadier tennis to edge the opening set, before claiming the decisive break in the final game of the match courtesy of a brilliant running passing shot.
In the top half of the draw, Kateryna Kozlova reached her second semifinal of the year after taking little over an hour to defeat Stefanie Voegele, 6-3, 6-3.
“I’ve played here before and made it to the quarterfinals last year, it’s great to play here,” Kozlova said. “I started to play aggressively from the word go and put my opponent under pressure early. I think I played brave and aggressive tennis, I’m happy with my level.”
Her reward is a meeting with big-serving Kristyna Pliskova, who fired down 12 aces during a 6-3, 6-4 win over Irina Khromacheva.
Kristyna Pliskova takes on Irina-Camelia Begu in the second round of the Australian Open.
Watch all of the best shots of the BNP Paribas Open – right here!
WUHAN, China – Simona Halep has secured a spot at this year’s BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The Romanian joins Angelique Kerber and Serena Williams in the singles field.
Halep has secured her third consecutive qualification at the WTA Finals by reaching the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Madison Keys at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open on Thursday. Both of her previous appearances were in the first two editions of the WTA Finals held in Singapore – highlighted by her win over then World No.1 Serena Williams in the round-robin stage in 2014 en route to the finals followed by last year’s showing, where she defeated the 2015 US Open champion Flavia Pennetta in the round-robin stage.
“Congratulations to Simona on qualifying for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global for the third consecutive year,” said WTA CEO Steve Simon. “She is an outstanding player who has enjoyed a very successful year with three Tour wins and fans in Singapore and following along around the world will enjoy watching her competitive spirit against the other top WTA athletes.”
Halep is one of four players to win three WTA singles titles in 2016 (also Azarenka, Kerber and Stephens), clinching her second Premier Mandatory trophy at the Mutua Madrid Open and back-to-back titles at the BRD Bucharest Open and Rogers Cup in Montréal, bringing her win-loss record to 43-14 (thru Wuhan QF). In addition, the 25-year-old reached two semifinals at the Apia International Sydney and Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati and four quarterfinals at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Miami Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
“It means a lot to qualify for the WTA Finals Singapore – it was one of my goals this year,” said Halep. “It will be my third time in a row competing at the WTA Finals and I hope I play great. I have great memories from 2014 and am confident I can do well. I will be very focused.”
Life is a rollercoaster for Svetlana Kuznetsova, and while in Melbourne she stopped by Luna Park to take a ride on one in real life. (Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)
Before the action, Sveta made sure to grab some popcorn and cotton candy, standard amusement park treats! (Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)
Luna Park is a very historic amusement park – it opened in 1912! (Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)
Sveta eased into the amusement park spirit with a ride on the Magical Carousel. (Getty Images)
Next up, Sveta took her whole team onto the Scenic Railway rollercoaster. (Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)
Sveta looks like she’s having fun! Coach Carlos Martínez? Not so much… (Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)
Opened in December 1912, the Scenic Railway is the oldest continually operating roller coaster in the world! (Getty Images)
“I was a little bit nervous before getting on, but it was not too big!” Sveta said after the ride. (Getty Images)
Scenic Railway is one of only three roller coasters in the world that require a brakeman to stand in the middle of the train – he looks pretty calm! (Getty Images)
“I don’t remember the last time I’ve been to a park like this! Visiting somewhere other than the tennis club, it’s already very good,” she added. (Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)
An interview with Heather Watson after her win in the first round of the Miami Open.
Six-time champion Serena Williams came through her first significant test at this year’s Australian Open, defeating Lucie Safarova in two high-quality sets.
An interview with Angelique Kerber before the start of the Miami Open.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Mirjana Lucic-Baroni caused the biggest upset of this year’s Australian Open by knocking out No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round.
In little over an hour on Margaret Court Arena, Lucic-Baroni struck 33 winners to complete a 6-3, 6-2 victory and set up a third-round meeting with another unseeded player, Maria Sakkari.
Lucic-Baroni will turn 35 in March and last progressed beyond the first round at Melbourne Park in 1998. However, even after dropping serve at the start of the second set, she refused to be derailed, reeling off the next six games to seal victory, and hand Radwanska her earliest loss at Melbourne Park in eight years.
Mirjana #LucicBaroni has that winning #AusOpen feeling in 2R pic.twitter.com/i3WQOQLBTS
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 19, 2017
A one-time teenage prodigy, Lucic-Baroni has returned to the limelight in recent years, winning a third career title at Québec City in 2014, and upsetting Simona Halep at the French and US Opens. These performances have imbued the Croat with the confidence that on her day she can compete with the game’s best.
“That was my first big win in a while and it was a shock,” Lucic-Baroni said when asked about her win over Halep at the 2014 US Open. “I know I have some good tennis in me still, that’s the reason I’m still out here playing at 34 – I’m no spring chicken – to get these moments and these feelings. It was really fun tonight.
“I know that I have the game to win a big match. I didn’t go in there to see a big court, I went in with a gameplan. I’ve been around too long to just gain experience.”
Like Halep, Radwanska proved powerless in the face of a barrage of winners, responding with just eight of her own.
“There’s not a lot I could do; she’s playing without pressure, full power. It’s hard to comment because it all went so fast,” Radwanska said in her press conference. “It’s always disappointing when you lose in the first week of a Grand Slam. I need to come back next year and do better.”
Lucic-Baroni now faces Sakkari, another player appearing at this stage of the tournament for the first time.
“I don’t feel like I’m that old. I’ve missed a few years on tour, but this time around I don’t have anything to prove, I’m just enjoying myself, playing for myself. I’m enjoying it, enjoying the moments and just trying to go as far as I can,” Lucic-Baroni added.