My Performance: Johanna Konta
Johanna Konta reflects on her performance at the Miami Open.
Johanna Konta reflects on her performance at the Miami Open.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, USA – It had been building for a few years – she won her first two Grand Slams at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2000, and then repeated at both in 2001 – but it all came together for the first time as Venus Williams finally got to No.1 fourteen years ago today in February 25, 2002.
After a 12-month period that saw her win 56 of 61 matches and nine titles – Miami, Hamburg, Wimbledon, San Diego, New Haven and the US Open in 2001, and Gold Coast, Paris and Antwerp in 2002 – Williams rose from No.2 to No.1 on February 25, 2002, overtaking Jennifer Capriati.
She became the 11th player to hold the top spot on the WTA computer rankings, but the achievement was even more special as Williams was also the first ever African-American player – male or female – to rank No.1 in the world in tennis.
“When you’re on a professional tour, you don’t aspire to be No. 3 or No. 2,” Williams said 14 years ago when asked about the milestone. “Normally you do your best to become the best. At this point, I am the best in the world, so that’s exciting and it’s going to be mine at least a week.”
“I think the best part is that I’ve enjoyed myself along the way and that I have not limited myself just to playing tennis or made myself believe that that’s the only thing in life. I’ve always been doing things at the same time and having a career. For me, that’s the best part.”
She would eventually spend a total of non-consecutive 11 weeks at the top spot in 2002 and claim a whopping 49 WTA singles titles to date in her career, including the Taiwan Open earlier this year.
A few more throwbacks to February 25, 2002…
No.1 song on Billboard Hot 100 singles: Always On Time by Ja Rule & Ashanti
No.1 album on Billboard 200 albums: J To Tha L-O!: The Remixes by Jennifer Lopez
No.1 movie at US Box Office: Queen Of The Damned
No.1 men’s tennis player: Lleyton Hewitt
Over 300 kids and their families packed the Mextennis Stadium for the 23th edition of the annual AMT Kids’ Day.
Victoria Azarenka was in the middle of all the action, having stayed in Acapulco despite having to bow out of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel due to injury.
She was joined on court by a colorful cast of characters including Spongebob Squarepants’ Patrick…
…as well as Spongebob himself!
Vika was also joined by David Ferrer, meaning the children got the chance to hang out with both the WTA and the ATP top seeds.
Azarenka and Ferrer were recognized as Agents of Change for making a difference by being a positive example to the youth.
The 300 children present came from local tennis schools and several area youth programs.
The players led the kids through drills and exercises, as well as gave them an unforgettable experience with their heroes.
DOHA, Qatar – Andrea Petkovic played some of her best tennis of the year to maintain a perfect head-to-head record against No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, winning 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 to reach the semifinals of the Qatar Total Open.
Watch live action from Doha & Acapulco this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
“It’s very special,” Petkovic said of her first Top 5 win in three years. “It was so tough; Garbiñe is such a talented and dangerous player who put me under pressure.
“I was a little lucky in the end, but I’m just happy to be through.”
Each woman hit 29 winners, but while the German played cleanly throughout – hitting just 16 unforced errors – Muguruza had more issues with consistency, hitting 38.
“I’ve been playing really well the past few weeks. Everything is coming together and I’m getting my match focus again,” Petkovic continued.
“I’m really happy I’m on the right path and really looking forward to the whole season.”
Up next for the former World No.9 is teen sensation Jelena Ostapenko, who dispatched China’s Zheng Saisai in the first quarterfinal of the day.
“I watched both of her matches, and she’s been playing great. I had her on the radar, before. I saw her in Linz qualifying and thought this girl is really good.
“She’s showing her talent, and hopefully I can recover well from today’s match and put on a good performance tomorrow.”
Jelena Ostapenko takes on Zheng Saisai in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Total Open.
Check out CiCi Bellis’s shot of the day from the Abierto GNP Seguros.
Hear from Venus Williams before the start of the tournament.
MONTERREY, Mexico – Francesca Schiavone and Johanna Konta – two of the Abierto Monterrey Afirme’s top seeds – went to downtown Monterrey to play street tennis right outside the Palacio Municipal. They put on an exhibition match for the crowd and gave the fans a taste what’s to come this week in Monterey.
See the best photos – including some trick shots from Schiavone – right here, courtesy of the Abierto Monterrey Afirme.
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Few can claim to be a more voracious reader than Andrea Petkovic, and the German sat down with Joel Drucker of Tennis Channel at the Volvo Car Open this week to put her skills to the ultimate test.
Petkovic, who is as much a Renaissance woman as she is a professional athlete, has a well-rounded range of interests that span from art and music to literature, which she called her escape in the sit-down with Drucker following her first round victory in Charleston.
“Some people escape with drugs and alcohol. For me, it’s literature,” the 29-year-old said.
The 2014 Volvo Car Open champion often gives followers and fans a glimpse into her eclectic world off the court on social media, whether it be by documenting visits to museums in her world travels, quoting Robert Frost on her Twitter account — or taking a book into the ice bath at the US Open.
Four of the German’s favorites authors — Ernest Hemingway, Saul Bellow, Friedrich Nietzsche and Leo Tolstoy — span generations and have few peers in the realm of literature, but just who would they be like if they picked up a racquet?
On Hemingway…
“He plays short points – really likes to go to net. Definitely would chip-charge. He’s tall, handsome – much like Patrick Rafter.”
On Bellow…
“He hits big, powerful shots – like Alexander Zverev. He’s a spectacular, hard-hitting player who loves the big sentence and brings lots of philosophical insight.”
On Nietzsche…
“He’s like Ivan Lendl. He’ll grind it out. He likes to suffer.”
On Tolstoy…
“A percentage player. He always plays the right shot – a baseliner, sort of like Caroline Wozniacki. Just a terrific all-around player.”
Stay tuned for part two from Tennis Channel, coming soon as the former World No.9 compares some of tennis’ greats, along with her peers and compatriots, to some of history’s best authors.